Donald Tusk 'Most Likely' To Win Poland Election Despite Label As 'Controversial Figure'

Poland's right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS) are on the rocks after an exit poll showed a victory for the Civic Coalition led by Donald Tusk.

The dramatic turn of events has been labelled one of the most significant political turnarounds in Europe.

The exit poll suggested that although the PiS party received the most votes, Tusk's Civic Coalition, combined with two other opposition coalitions, should have a route to a parliamentary majority.

According to the IPSOS poll, PiS is set to win 36.6 per cent of the votes and the centrist opposition will see 31 per cent of the votes.

The centre-right party, Third Way, was estimated to receive 13.5 per cent of the votes, the Left saw 8.6 per cent and the far-right Confederation with 6.4 per cent.

"Poland won, democracy has won," said Tusk, who served as Poland's Prime Minister between the years 2007 and 2014.

Addressing a large crowd of supporters in Warsaw, Tusk was met with loud cheers and chants of his name when he declared: "This is the end of the bad times, this is the end of the PiS government."

Natalia Zelazowska, a Polish student who voted for Nowa Lewica (the New Left), also condemned PiS for ridding Poland of democracy.

She said: "PiS has interfered with democracy by means of laws, as well as with EU law, something I have always been opposed to."

Despite labelling Tusk as a "controversial figure in Polish politics", Zelazowska recognised that "his return is considered very necessary".

"I think that these elections were extremely ground-breaking", considering the "highest turnout in the democratic history of Poland", she added.

Prior to the exit poll revelation, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the current Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, who has served as the Leader of the PiS party since 2003, admitted that he was unsure that the party's "success will be able to be turned into another term in power".

Supporters of the Civic Coalition were stunned when election officials later revealed that the turnout against the far-right PiS was estimated to stand at around 72.9 per cent.

The exit poll marked a record number of votes towards three leading opposition parties that could potentially combine to lead the majority of seats in the 460-member parliament.

Since 1989, communism in Poland has fallen dramatically, allowing the Law and Justice party to remain in power since 2015.

As well as criticisms that point the finger at the PiS for corrupting state media outlets, a series of scandals have also paved the way for the Civic Coalition to win votes.

Zelazowska recognised that PiS have "manipulated the public media for years, staffed the courts with judges sympathetic to its decisions, and the Constitutional Tribunal's ruling tightening the abortion law was the best example of this".

Polish nationals have faced controversial laws and social conflicts since the PiS took centre stage - including selling visas for bribes, abortion restrictions, the rise of homophobia, the ban on grain imports from Ukraine and the breakdown of relations with the EU.

Speaking of the limits that the PiS have implemented on abortion, Zelazowska added: "The tightening of abortion law in Poland, and the last years of PiS rule have caused much harm to women and minorities, including LGBTQ+ people, who have been harassed by representatives of the previous government."

Speaking of Tusk as the "most likely future prime minister" of Poland, Zelazowska explained: "He has also seen quite a worldview shift from the centre-right, clearly moving to the left, which has also allowed him to better reach out to the youth."

According to Zelazowska, within the first 100 days of being in office, the winning party is expected to focus on "deepening ties with the European Union, unblocking EU funds for Poland, the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples and legal abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy".

State television is also expected to be altered to appear less controlled by the government, she concluded.