The governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, allied with two smaller groupings in a United Right coalition, came first in Sunday’s election, with 36.1 percent of the vote, but the opposition looked poised to form the new government, according to exit poll projections released on Monday afternoon.
The liberal opposition Civic Coalition (KO) finished in second place, with 31 percent, and the centre-right opposition Third Way alliance was third with 14 percent, according to the updated survey by pollster Ipsos.
The New Left party was fourth on 8.6 percent.
The far-right Confederation group, with 6.8 percent, also crossed the 5-percent voter support threshold that Polish parties need to clear to enter parliament, the updated exit poll indicated.
According to the poll, Law and Justice secured 196 seats in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, compared with a combined 249 for the opposition.
The Civic Coalition looked set to have 158 seats in the lower house; the Third Way alliance was seen garnering 61 seats; and the New Left secured 30 seats, according to the survey.
The Confederation was expected to have 15 lawmakers in the 460-seat house.
The Non-Partisan Local Government Activists group received 2 percent of the vote, according to the late exit poll, and will not be represented in parliament, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The polling company said its “late poll” findings released on Monday afternoon combined exit poll data with partial official results based on 90 percent of the vote, and could vary only slightly from the final election returns.
The official results of the vote were expected to be announced by midday on Tuesday.
Voter turnout was a record 73.9 percent, according to the late exit poll.
An initial exit poll released on Sunday evening had pointed to a slightly smaller gap between the governing conservatives and the opposition, putting the Law and Justice party's showing at 200 seats vs. 248 seats for the opposition.
The Polish parliamentary election was combined with a referendum on issues including migration and the retirement age.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP