Voting closes in Poland for election that could impact EU, support for Ukraine

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Poles headed to the ballot box Sunday in a closely watched election as the conservative ruling Law and Justice party sought a third term and voters weighed in on a referendum on European immigration policy.

The election pitted Law and Justice, or PiS, a populist party that has tussled with the European Union during its eight years in power, against a center-left coalition led by former prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk.

Voters cast ballots for 460 new members of parliament and 100 senators, choosing from 6,655 candidates.

A party must capture 231 seats in the Sejm, parliament's lower house, to gain majority control.

Voters also weighed in on a referendum to either express support of or opposition to the European Union's migrant relocation plan.

As voting closed at 9 p.m. local time, it remained unclear from exit polls if PiS had won enough votes to form a government on its own without coalition partners, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

PiS appeared on track for 36.8% of the vote, translating to roughly 200 seats, well short of the required level to form a government.

Tusk, meanwhile, told DW he believed his party and its allies in the Civic Coalition had enough votes to form a government replacing PiS, proclaiming, "I am the happiest man on earth. Democracy has won. Poland has won."

PiS has enacted stiff restrictions against abortion access and has taken an adversarial position against the LGBTQ+ community. It is expected to pull back on aid to Ukraine as it defends against invading Russia.

The EU has been critical of the ruling party for consolidating control of Poland's judicial system, media and other institutions.

There are about 29 million people eligible to vote in Poland. The results of the election are expected to be announced on Tuesday.