- Title: Warsaw residents split on ruling nationalists' win in Polish elections
- Date: 14th October 2019
- Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (OCTOBER 14, 2019) (REUTERS) PALACE OF SCIENCE AND CULTURE PEOPLE WALKING NEAR KIOSK VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPERS ANNOUNCING ELECTION RESULTS PEOPLE AT KIOSK VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPERS PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) WARSAW RESIDENT, SYLWIA WALENDOWSKA-MAJCHER, SAYING: "First of all I'm satisfied with the voter turnout, because Poles went to the ballot box in enormous numbers, motivation was great and one ought to be happy about that. We should look at the world positively. Today the sun is shining and that's the most important thing." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) WARSAW RESIDENT, BARBARA KOWALCZYK, SAYING: "I'm not going to hide that I'm a little bit sad, because Poland will continue, as it has over the past four years, to be seen on the international arena as fighting with openness and closed off to tolerance." PEOPLE WALKING CITY CENTRE BUILDINGS PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) WARSAW RESIDENT, JULIA LOSEK, SAYING: "This country is not moving forward, it's going backward. Women won't be able to make decisions about their bodies, about abortion, and even gays and lesbians are not being tolerated, this country is not tolerant." (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) PENSIONER, BARBARA KWASNIEWSKA, SAYING: "The elections in our society are not thought-through, they are dictated by hate, abstinence, and not with Poland in mind." VARIOUS OF POLISH PARLIAMENT BUILDING POLISH GOVERNMENT BUILDING
- Embargoed: 28th October 2019 10:22
- Keywords: poland parliamentary elections warsaw poland voting polls reactions to polish election results polish elections
- Location: WARSAW, POLAND
- City: WARSAW, POLAND
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001B12KJ7R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Views on Poland's political future were split on the streets of Warsaw on Monday (October 14) as Poles woke up to find the country's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had won a majority in Sunday's (October 13) parliamentary vote.
PiS secured a second four-year term and is expected to continue reforms criticized as subverting democratic norms by Poland's European partners.
"Poland will continue, as it has over the past four years, to be seen on the international arena as fighting with openness and closed off to tolerance," Warsaw resident Barbara Kowalczyk told Reuters, adding she was sad about the election result.
The win for PiS is likely to stoke concern about democratic standards in the largest formerly-communist state of the European Union, where the government has been accused of politicising the judiciary, turning state media into a mouthpiece and polarising society.
"This country is not moving forward, it's going backward," another resident Julia Losek said, adding that she was concerned about women's and LGBT rights.
Critics accuse PiS of fomenting homophobia during the election campaign, with PiS officials calling lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights an invasive foreign influence that threatens Poland's national identity.
Voter turnout reached 61.1%, according to Ipsos pollster as each party had tried to galvanise their supporters by saying the country's future was at stake.
"Poles went to the ballot box in enormous numbers, motivation was great and one ought to be happy about that," Warsaw resident Sylwia Walendowska-Majcher told Reuters.
If turnout is confirmed, it would be the highest in a parliamentary vote since 1989's partially-free election that ushered in the end of communist rule in Poland.
According to the official results from 99.3% of Polish constituencies published by the election commission, PiS won 43.8% of votes. The country's biggest opposition grouping Civic Coalition (KO) came second with 27.2% support, followed by the leftist alliance.
(Production: Jaroslaw Gawlowski, Dominik Starosz) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
