Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on Sunday, October 15, 2023. Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice party, which has been ruling since 2015, won the vote, but lost its majority in the Republican Seimas. The opposition will now be able to nominate its candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
For whom did the citizens of Poland cast their votes?
Among the opposition forces, the leader in the number of votes can be considered the “Civil Coalition” – an alliance of parties led by the “Civic Platform". This coalition is heterogeneous in its ideological climate: Civic Platform adheres to moderate right-wing liberal views, while their allies are progressives from the Polish Initiative, the left-centrists of Modern and the Greens. About 6 and a half million voters voted for the coalition in the elections, which allowed them to take 157 seats in parliament.
Another serious opponent of “Law and Justice” was the Third Way coalition, formed in April this year. The parties within the union represent an alternative to two historical rivals: “Law and Justice” and “Civic Platform". The main difference between the moderate-right conservatives from the “Third Way” and the PiS is their desire for deeper integration of Poland into the European Union. According to the results of the vote, the association of “Poland 2050”, “Polish People's Party”, “Center for Poland” and “Libertarians” took 65 seats in the Sejm, receiving 14.4% of the vote.
“Law and Justice” has held power since 2015, and many political decisions of the ruling party were met by citizens with indignation, which flowed into the streets. According to expert Gabor Stier for “РИА Новости”, it was the record turnout figures – about 70% – that determined the outcome of the election. According to the international press, the turnout rate among voters under the age of 29 was 68.8%. Young people who had never voted before 2023 came to the polls to say “no” to the conservative turnaround in Poland.
“I would say this: more and more people in Poland expected something new, some kind of change. For 20 years, the competition between Kaczynski and Tusk has defined the Polish political space. Many are already tired. 20 years – this means that when the people who voted for the first time were born, they were already there” – Gabor Stier for RIA Novosti
Which party of Kaczynski will leave Poland?
The press calls the Polish political system an “illiberal democracy.” Democratic institutions are functioning in the country, but the laws adopted by the Constitutional Court of Poland violate human rights. The infamous judicial reform was sharply criticized by the West, as a result of which the courts in Poland under the leadership of Julia Przilebski actually ceased to be independent. Republican law was placed above European law, which contradicts the principles of the European Union. For this reform, the European Commission imposed a fine on the republic – 1 million euros per day.
Also, the IpR, which traditionally relies on villagers, has taken a course to tighten policy towards the LGBK+ community and migrants. According to the ruling party, the migration of the Muslim population poses a threat to the Catholic traditional values of Poles.
The most high-profile domestic political event in Poland over the past few years has been the law banning abortions. The law prohibiting access to the abortion procedure in almost all cases came into force on January 27, 2021. According to the international human rights organization Amnesty Internationalsince the beginning of 2021, more than 1,000 women have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in an attempt to defend their rights to terminate pregnancy.
"Restrictive abortion laws, such as in Poland, are contrary to international and European human rights standards and public health guidelines. They endanger the freedom, dignity, health and life of women. The interventions of our organizations are aimed at highlighting the most important aspects of such restrictive laws from a human rights perspective, and we are proud to support efforts to hold Poland accountable for these ongoing human rights violations," the world's leading human rights organizations said.
During the eight years in power, PiS has seriously changed the political climate of Poland. The opposition, which has come to power, will have to carry out serious work in the conditions of growing inflation and military operations in the east.
Шеф-редактор филиала СМИ в МГУ имени Ломоносова
Специальный корреспондент раздела “Политика”
