Poland’s PiS ahead in local elections, but not in political control – POLITICO

Polish television TVN estimated that the Civic Platform won in 10 regions, up from seven in 2018, and that PiS led in six. However, the other parties in the ruling coalition likely won enough regional seats to be able to control most regional assemblies, which are key bodies in managing tens of billions of EU funds. Official regional results are expected on Tuesday.

Tusk called the result a repeat of the October elections that removed PiS from power, but then added: “Today we see that this path will not be easy, including in the future. »

Tusk highlighted the victory of Rafał Traskowski, who won in the first round with 59.8 percent support in his bid to be re-elected mayor of Warsaw. Trzaskowski was the Civic Coalition’s presidential candidate in 2020 and is considered the most likely candidate to run again next year.

PiS tends to perform worse in the country’s big cities, which are quite liberal. In Warsaw, its candidate Tobiasz Bocheński comes far behind with 18.5 percent. PiS fares equally poorly in other key cities of Krakow, Wrocław and Gdańsk.

Sunday’s vote was the second election in six months. Poles are now preparing for the European elections in June and the presidential election in 2025.