(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, OCT 17 - Poland's pro-EU opposition was
set to win a parliamentary majority with almost all the votes
tallied early Tuesday, after a national election which saw the
highest turnout since the fall of Communism. The surprise result
would end eight years of rule by the nationalist Law and Justice
(PiS) party, during which relations with the European Union --
and in recent weeks with war-torn Ukraine -- have dramatically
soured. The opposition, led by former EU chief Donald Tusk, had
billed Sunday's parliamentary elections as the "last chance" to
save democracy. "This is the end of grim times," Tusk declared
late on Sunday. With more than 99 percent of votes counted, PiS
was in the lead but without a majority at 35.6 percent, while
Tusk's Civic Coalition, the Third Way and Left parties together
had 53.5 percent.
Putting the liberal opposition in power would bring a huge
political shift in Poland, countering the PiS party's
nationalist hardline Catholic vision for the country. The
election was dominated by issues such as Russia's invasion of
neighbouring Ukraine, migrants and women's rights and more than
74 percent of voters went to the polls. (ANSA-AFP).
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