ZCZC
BFF-44
POLAND-VOTE
Polish nationalists gain in regional polls, liberals win urban vote
WARSAW, Oct 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Poland’s governing nationalists won
weekend regional elections but lost to opposition centrists in mayoral races
in large cities, official results showed on Thursday, reflecting deepening
polarisation amid the government’s controversial judicial reforms.
Sunday’s ballot was the first since a 2015 parliamentary election that
handed the Law and Justice (PiS) party an unprecedented parliamentary
majority and was seen as a key test for the nationalists as they gear up for
EU and legislative elections next year.
The local elections also took place as the PiS has put Poland on a
collision course with the European Union by introducing a string of
controversial judicial reforms that the bloc has warned pose a threat to
judicial independence, the rule of law and ultimately to democracy.
Official full results published by the State Elections Commission overnight
Wednesday to Thursday showed the PiS party winning in nine of 16 regional
assemblies, including absolute majorities in six.
This result reflects a significant expansion for the party in rural areas,
where it controlled just one regional assembly following the 2014 election.
Riding a wave of popularity driven by robust economic growth and generous
social spending, the PiS won 254 seats in regional assemblies nationwide.
A centrist coalition led by the Civic Platform (PO) liberal opposition took
194 seats, Polish Peasants’ Party (PSL) won 70, with independents scoring 15
and the SLD-Left Together leftists winning 11.
Powerful PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has hailed his party’s result as a
“good omen” ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.
However, official results for mayoral races showed liberals and centrist
candidates sweeping the urban vote.
PO liberal Rafal Trzaskowski, a 46-year-old former Europe minister and
member of the European Parliament, won a crushing first-round victory in the
capital Warsaw with 56.67 percent against his PiS rival Patryk Jaki, a deputy
justice minister, who scored 28.53 percent of the vote.
PO and opposition candidates also scored first round victories in other
major cities including Lodz, Lublin, Poznan and Wroclaw.
They also lead in Gdansk and Krakow, where a second round of voting is due
on November 4.
Poland’s elections commission pegged turnout on Sunday at over 55.76
percent, dubbing it the “highest ever” for local elections.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1532 HRS