Polish local elections test Tusk’s new government after 4 months in power

Voters across Poland cast their ballots in local elections on Sunday, the first electoral test for Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition government nearly four months after taking power.

Voters will elect the mayor and members of the city and provincial councils, an important exercise in self-government and one of the great achievements of Poland’s democratic transition when it emerged from communism 35 years ago.

There are nearly 190,000 registered candidates running for local government positions in the central European country of 38 million people.

If the mayoral candidate does not win at least 50% of the vote in Sunday’s first round, a runoff vote must be held two weeks later, on April 21.

Opinion polls released days before the vote showed a close race between the two largest political factions: Tusk’s Civic Union, an electoral alliance led by his centrist and pro-EU Civic Platform party, and Law and Justice, a national party. The Conservatives were in power from 2015 to last year.

Several other groups trailed the two main groups, including the Third Way Alliance, the Left and the radical right-wing Federalist Party.

Tusk’s coalition government, which included Third Way and the Left, together won October’s national election. The record vote marked the end of a bumpy eight-year reign for Law and Justice, which the EU accused of violating democratic standards in its reforms of the justice system and public media.

Tusk won a promise to reverse many of those changes and tried to implement the plan, but it won’t be easy. His attempt to restore the independence of the judiciary is a lengthy process that requires the passage of new legislation.

Pledges to loosen strict abortion laws have also been stymied by conservatives in Tusk’s coalition.

The vote is also a test for the Law and Justice party, which has dominated the political scene for years with a string of electoral victories and strong support in conservative rural areas. However, its tough policies on LGBTQ+ and restrictions on abortion rights have been opposed by many young and female voters who went to the polls in October.

Local governments have played an important role in two major crises in recent years, rolling out vaccinations against COVID-19 and helping the large number of Ukrainian refugees who arrived in the country after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Candidates include Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a Tusk ally who is seeking re-election. He’s expected to win, but it’s unclear whether he can do so on Sunday or need to face a runoff in two weeks.

Local officials have their longest terms since 1989, with the Ministry of Law and Justice extending their terms from four to five years and then delaying elections by half a year over concerns that holding local elections alongside the national parliament would damage their status. Chance.