Andrzej Duda announced his decision in a televised address, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The president said the task of forming a new government would be given to the current conservative Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Duda, an ally of the ruling conservatives, told the nation: “After a calm analysis and consultations, I decided to entrust the mission of forming a government to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.”
Before the October 15 election, the president said he would give the largest single party the first shot at forming a new Cabinet, the Reuters news agency reported.
Law and Justice won the ballot, but lost its parliamentary majority to an alliance of four pro-European Union opposition parties.
As all other parties have ruled out entering into a coalition government with Law and Justice, the current ruling party, in power since 2015, looks unlikely to be able to govern.
If Morawiecki is unable to win a vote of confidence in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, the chamber will appoint another prime minister.
This will likely be Donald Tusk, a former prime minister and the leader of the liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the main opposition group, according to Reuters.
Tusk, a former European Council president, is the choice of the four opposition parties for head of government.
Tusk has pledged to unblock EU funds allocated for Poland but frozen by the European bloc due to a dispute over the Law and Justice government’s judicial reforms that critics say increase political influence over the courts, Reuters reported.
Tusk has also vowed to bring those accused by the opposition of wrongdoing during Law and Justice’s eight years in power before a state tribunal.
Tusk’s Civic Coalition has accused Law and Justice of undermining democratic standards by increasing political influence over the courts and turning state television into a propaganda outlet, accusations that the ruling party denies, Reuters also reported.
Tusk said on Monday that the president would likely grant the first shot at forming a government to Law and Justice, but added that Poland would likely have a new-look Cabinet by Christmas, the PAP news agency reported.
Tusk told a rally in the southwestern city of Wrocław: “President Andrzej Duda may give Law and Justice one or two more weeks, but I’m all but certain that there will be a new prime minister and a new government by Christmas Eve.”
He added that he “can’t rule out that the new prime minister will be me.”
Tusk also said that the coalition agreement between the four pro-EU opposition parties “is ready in every aspect,” while “policy differences remain on such issues as abortion,” the PAP new agency reported.
Tusk declared: “By Friday we’ll be ready to sign the coalition agreement. On Friday, party leaders will be able to confirm that the governing coalition has been formed.”
Poland set to appoint new gov't
At the end of last month, President Andrzej Duda held talks on the formation of a new government with the political groups that had won seats in the new parliament.
Afterwards, the head of state said that two groups had claimed to have the backing of a parliamentary majority and a candidate for prime minister, the PAP news agency reported.
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has named Morawiecki as its pick to stay on as head of the new government, while the Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the New Left have jointly named Tusk as their choice.
Duda has announced he will convene the first session of the country's newly elected parliament on November 13.
Poland elects new parliament
The ruling conservatives won Poland's October 15 election, but lost their parliamentary majority, increasing the likelihood of an opposition government.
The Law and Justice party, allied with two smaller groupings in a United Right coalition, claimed 35.4 percent of the vote and 194 seats in elections to the lower house of parliament.
Meanwhile, the largest opposition bloc, the Civic Coalition, led by Tusk's Civic Platform party, won 30.7 percent of the vote and 157 seats.
The centre-right opposition Third Way alliance finished third at the ballot box with 14.4 percent of the vote and 65 seats, and the opposition New Left party finished fourth with 8.6 percent and 26 seats.
The far-right Confederation group, with 7.2 percent of the vote, also crossed the 5-percent voter support threshold that Polish parties need to clear to enter parliament. It secured 18 lower-house seats.
The Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the New Left together hold 248 seats in the 460-seat lower house.
In addition to seizing control of the lower house, the opposition won 66 senatorial seats, while the ruling conservatives secured 34 seats in the upper house of Poland's bicameral parliament.
Under the Polish constitution, the new parliament must convene for the first time within 30 days of the election.
The president then has 14 days to nominate a candidate for prime minister. Once named, the nominee has 14 days to secure a vote of confidence from lawmakers. If this attempt is unsuccessful, parliament then selects its own nominee for prime minister.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, prezydent.pl
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.