BBC — Poland’s conservative opposition Law and Justice party has won parliamentary elections.
Its eurosceptic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has claimed victory, and the outgoing Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, has admitted defeat.
Law and Justice has strong support in Poland’s rural areas.
If the numbers suggested by the exit poll are confirmed, it will be the first time since democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern alone, the BBC’s Adam Easton in Warsaw says.
“We will exert law but there will be no taking of revenge. There will be no squaring of personal accounts,” said Mr Kaczynski. “There will be no kicking of those who have fallen through their own fault and very rightly so.”
Prime Ministerial candidate Beata Szydlo said she was grateful for the support of the Polish people:
“We have won because we have been consistent in facing all the challenges ahead of us and we followed in the footsteps of the late President Lech Kaczynski,” she said.
“We wouldn’t have won had it not been for the Polish people who told us about their expectations and needs, and who in the end voted for us.”
Europe’s refugee crisis also proved to be a key topic of debate before the election. While the government has agreed to take in 7,000 migrants, opposition parties have spoken out against the move.
Mr Kaczynski, 66, was not running as prime minister and has instead nominated Ms Szydlo, a relative unknown, as the party’s choice for the post.
However, some observers said Mr Kaczynski – the twin brother of Poland’s late president Lech – could take on the top job himself in the months to come.
The Law and Justice party is close to the country’s powerful Roman Catholic Church and has promised increased benefits and tax breaks,
It supports a ban on abortions and in-vitro fertilisation and believes a strong Nato is necessary to offset the threat from Russia.
Europe’s refugee crisis proved to be a key topic of debate before the election. The outgoing government’s decision to take in 7,000 migrants was strongly criticised by Law and Justice and other opposition parties.
Last week, Mr Kaczynski was criticised for suggesting migrants could bring diseases and parasites to Poland.
Civic Platform for its part sought closer ties with the EU.
Despite overseeing eight years of impressive economic growth it was beaten into second place and will become the main opposition party.
Only three other parties are projected to win enough votes to get seats in parliament: the Polish Peasants’ Party, and two new groups, a right-wing party led by rock star Pawel Kukiz and Modern Poland, a pro-business party.
