/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/VPFT4ZA4TJLGJPRZ6XXEQ4DQB4.jpg "An opinion poll showed that Poland’s Law and Justice Party is leading in the elections without a majority")
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s ruling National Party is leading in Sunday’s parliamentary elections but is likely to fail to achieve a majority, raising the possibility that the liberal opposition will seek to form a ruling coalition, an exit poll showed.
An Ipsos exit poll gave the ruling PiS with 36.8% of the vote, meaning the ruling PiS had 200 MPs in the 460-seat parliament.
The largest opposition grouping, the Liberal Civic Coalition, was expected to win 31.6% of the vote, which would give it 163 seats.
The center-right Third Way coalition and the New Left, which could enter into a coalition with KO, received 13% and 8.6% respectively.
[1/12]People line up outside a polling station during Polish parliamentary elections in Warsaw, Poland, October 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kasper Pempel Obtaining licensing rights
Official results will begin appearing later on Sunday.
KO leader Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council, pledged to repair Warsaw’s relations with Brussels, which have been strained by several clashes over issues such as judicial independence, gay rights and immigration.
Critics say that since PiS came to power in 2015, it has increased its political influence over the courts and turned state media into propaganda outlets.
Some 110 billion euros in EU funds allocated to Poland have been frozen due to rule of law concerns.
(Reporting by Warsaw and Gdańsk bureaus; Writing by Justyna Pawlak) Editing by Hugh Lawson and Giles Elgood
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