UPDATE: Polish conservatives win EU elections - final results
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
27.05.2019 15:32
Poland's ruling conservatives have won a decisive victory over a coalition of opposition parties in the country's elections to the European Parliament, according to final results announced by electoral officials on Monday.
Poland's National Electoral Commission sums up the results of the European Parliament vote
Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz
Sunday’s vote was a key test for Poland’s political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in the autumn. Turnout was a record 45.68 percent.
The governing Law and Justice (PiS) party won 45.38 percent of the vote in the European elections, while its arch-rival, the European Coalition alliance of opposition parties, garnered 38.47 percent, the National Electoral Commission said.
An exit poll had pointed to a less convincing win for Poland's ruling conservatives.
The socially liberal Wiosna (Spring) grouping, which appeared only recently in Polish politics, finished third in Sunday’s elections with 6.06 percent, according to official results.
Contrary to the findings of the exit poll, no other grouping crossed the 5 percent threshold needed to get into the European Parliament under Polish election rules.
According to exit poll results released seconds after polling stations closed at 9pm on Sunday, the nationalist Confederation group had garnered 6.1 percent.
Poles went to the ballot box to choose 52 deputies to the European Parliament, the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union, which their country joined in 2004.
A Cabinet reshuffle could take place in the near future: several Polish government ministers are expected to switch Warsaw for Brussels after successfully running for the European Parliament.
(pk/gs)
Source: PAP