Donald Tusk, the head of the opposition in Poland, declares victory

Donald Tusk, the head of the opposition in Poland, declares victory

A combination of opposition parties, according to opposition leader Donald Tusk, has enough votes to win the election; the state electoral commission is scheduled to announce the official results on Tuesday.

Three opposition parties looked to have garnered enough votes in Sunday's election to unseat the ruling party, prompting Donald Tusk, the head of the Polish opposition, to proclaim the start of a new era.

In the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm, an exit poll by Ipsos indicated that the opposition, acting as a coalition, had likely gained 248 seats, while Law and Justice seemed to have 198 seats.

A government must have at least 231 seats in order to approve laws.

While running on different ballots, three opposition parties—Civic Coalition, Third Way, and the New Left—promised to work to unseat Law and Justice and mend fences with the European Union.

The former prime minister and current head of the European Council, Mr. Tusk, said to his fans on Sunday night: "I am the happiest man on earth. Democracy has triumphed. Poland has prevailed.

I've been a politician for a long time, he continued. I play sports. I've never felt happier about coming in second place in my life. Poland prevailed. Democracy has triumphed. We have taken away their authority.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Law and Justice, congratulated his party's supporters on its victory, which made it the party with the most votes in three consecutive parliamentary elections with about 37% of the vote, according to the exit poll.

The state election commission says it anticipates having final results by Tuesday morning even though votes are still being tallied.

The prediction indicates that the far-right Confederation has most certainly won 12 seats.

In the 38 million-person nation of Central Europe, Law and Justice enjoys a committed base of followers who value its defense of Catholic values and its social expenditure on elderly and families with children.

However, following the most recent election in 2019, when it garnered close to 44% of the vote, popularity for the party has declined due to rising inflation, accusations of corruption, and disputes with European partners.

Many Poles believe that this election is the most significant one since 1989, when a new democracy was established following decades of communism.

A record 600,000 voters who were registered overseas were among the approximately 29 million eligible voters.

Recent polling has showed opposition parties had a chance to deny the populists in power a historic third consecutive term.

However, Mr. Tusk and his supporters could have to wait weeks or perhaps months before they get the chance to create a government if the official results back up the exit poll.

The four referendum issues, which ranged from the admission of immigrants to raising the retirement age and selling public assets to foreign companies, were presented to Poles in addition to the legislative election.

Donald Tusk: Who is he?

From 2007 until 2014, the Civic Coalition's 66-year-old leader served as Poland's prime minister.

Since Poland's communist regime was overthrown, Mr. Tusk became the first president to be reelected in 2011.

He has been active in politics since the early 1990s, and his presidency of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 will have made him more well-known to citizens of the continent.

He has previously asserted that "external anti-European forces" impacted the outcome of the Brexit referendum and supported proposals for a number of changes to the EU to safeguard member states' electoral procedures.

Mr. Tusk served as president throughout the contentious and protracted Brexit discussions between the UK and the EU.

Mr. Tusk made a comeback to Polish politics in an effort to revitalize his party and retake control.

He sought to undo what many believed to be a weakening of basic liberties and links to European allies under the rule of the nationalist Law and Justice party.

He used a heart in the national colors of white and red as his campaign emblem to symbolize that "we all have Poland in our hearts."

Known as a charismatic leader, Mr. Tusk steered his centrist alliance to the left by making a number of commitments to win over female and younger voters.