- WARSAW: Workers in Poland are putting out ballot boxes and hanging the national flag at polling stations the day before for a vote to determine whether the centrist Civic Platform party will win another term after four years of strong economic growth.
As the country prepares for parliamentary elections Sunday, opinion polls show Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s party in the lead, but facing a tough challenge from Law and Justice, the conservative party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Several small parties are also vying for support. However, the main battle pits Tusk’s pro-market and pro-European Union vision against that of Kaczynski. He favors strong state control over the economy and has recently accused Germany of trying to subjugate Poland.
Aside from the preparation of polling stations, the only sign Saturday of the approaching election was the absence of any talk of parties and campaigning in the media. Under Polish law, no campaigning or publishing of opinion polls is allowed on Saturday or Sunday until polls close. The aim is to give people the chance to reflect calmly on their choices before they cast ballots.
Voters in this ex-communist country of 38 million will elect 460 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, and 100 to the Senate.
Polling stations across the country will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (0500 to 1900 GMT). Exit polls will be released when polls close but official results will only come several hours later.
