Poland's ruling party widens majority - exit poll
Jaroslaw Kaczynski (pictured sitting) said his governing Law and Justice party "deserved more" after projections showed it won at the parliamentary elections in Poland. The 43.6% share of votes, calculated according to an exit poll, translates to 239 positions out of 460 in the Sejm, the Parliament's lower chamber, compared to the current 221 and the 235 from last time.
Civic Coalition trailed the ruling PiS. The group led by Civic Platform got 27.4% of votes. Former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, currently the outgoing president of the European Council, came from the centrist pro-European party. A left-wing group won 11.9%, after falling below the 5% threshold in 2015, followed by 9.6% for the Polish People's Party, which focuses on the agricultural sector.
The margin of error was two percentage points in either direction. The Civic Platform accused PiS of irregularities. The government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (standing) has been criticized by the European Union for its track record in the rule of law, immigration policy and treatment of the LGBTQ community.