TRANSCRIPT
Poland's Third Way party and its allies are celebrating a potential victory following an Ipsos exit poll.
The poll indicates that a coalition of three opposition parties is poised to secure 248 out of the 460 seats in the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, which could lead to the ousting of the governing Law and Justice party.
According to the projection, Law and Justice is expected to obtain 200 seats, while the far-right Confederation is set to secure 12 seats.
The three opposition parties, including Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, Third Way, and the New Left, each ran independently, but with the common goal of removing Law and Justice from power and restoring positive relations with the European Union.
Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz is the head of election campaign for Third Way.
"This is the huge day for our democracy because it seems that bad government, which we had in Poland for eight years, now will be changed for democratic governments. And there is a lot of work to do for all of us, and it's going to be a huge challenge. But I think that we are determined, we are ready to do this job and we've been working so hard for the success of today's elections. So yes, we are very satisfied and full of hope that things will be much better in Poland in the days, months and years to come."
Stanislaw Zakroczymski is a member of the Electoral staff for Third Party. He says the large turnout of voters was a surprise.
"And today it's (turnout) exceeded 70%. This is something that no one expected, really, no one. We have many experts focusing on electoral issues and no one expected turnout being higher than 65%. It speaks for itself. Polish people are done, are done with this government and spoke that they want big change. And I guess that this amount of votes for Third Way, Trzecia Droga (Polish for Third Way), says also that they want something new."
This election is considered of utmost importance by many Poles, comparable to the significance of the 1989 election when Poland transitioned to democracy after years of communism.
The outcome will impact the nation's constitutional framework.
Poland is a socially conservative country and its government has implemented policies that are at odds with the E-U's values on issues such as LGBTIQ+ rights and abortion, as well as its foreign alliances, particularly its role as a key ally to Ukraine in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion.
This is Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk.
He is a former European Council president and aims to mend Warsaw's relations with the European Union.
"I have been a politician for many years. I'm an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking seemingly second place. Poland won. Democracy has won. We have removed them from power. ... This result might still be better, but already today we can say this is the end of the bad time, this is end of Law and Justice (PIS) rule.”
He says voters have heralded a new age for his nation.
“To all the voters I want to offer my heartfelt thanks. You have given a great thing to yourselves, to Poland, to your families. This is one of the most beautiful days of Poland’s democracy. I have no doubt that this day will go down in the history of Poland as a bright day, as a day that opens a new era, the rebirth of our Republic."
With war raging in neighbouring Ukraine and a migrant crisis brewing, the EU and Washington have been watching the vote closely, although both P-i-S and its mainstream opposition support NATO member Poland's key role in providing military and logistical support to Ukraine.
This is Polish Member of the European Parliament and former government minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
He says Poland will no longer do what the previous government did.
"We’ll not be breaking European treaties. We will not be breaking judgments of the European Court of Justice, therefore Poland should return to its rightful place as one of the five big members of the EU, influential particularly on foreign eastern policy of the EU and I hope we will soonest be able to take advantage of the recovery funds of the European Union.”
The Polish government has been accused of undermining the rule of law by interfering with the judiciary, media, and civil society.
This has led to tensions with the EU, which has launched rule of law proceedings against Poland.
Mr Sikorski says the new government will work to resolve these issues.
"Well we need to mend the institutions that have been broken like state media, prosecution service, security services, the army, I’m sure you’ve heard. Much damage to Poland’s institutions has been done and they have to be repaired. We also need to rebuild social capital in Poland. This division into two warring tribes is unacceptable."
Votes were still being counted and the state electoral commission says it expects to have final results by Tuesday morning local time.
