Poland’s general election will take place on Oct. 15, President Andrzej Duda announced on Tuesday, commencing the formal start of the election campaign.
“Take part in the elections!” Duda posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Guided by the content of the positive opinion of the National Electoral Commission just received regarding the proposed date of elections to the Sejm and Senate, I decided to order these elections for Oct. 15, 2023.
“The future of Poland is a matter for each of us! Use your rights,” he added.
The governing Conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party will be seeking a third consecutive term in government, having been in power since 2015, but the election is expected to be tightly fought with Jarosław Kaczyński’s party facing stiff competition from both the left and the hard-right.
The conservative United Right alliance, dominated by PiS, remains ahead in recent polls but is closely followed by the liberal Civic Coalition, comprising former Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) the centrist Modern party, the progressive Polish Initiative, and The Greens.
The United Right is currently polling at around 36 percent and the Civic Coalition at 30 percent.
Two other coalitions, The Left alliance and the Third Way, comprising the centrist Poland 2050 and Polish Coalition parties are averaging around 10 and 9 percent respectively.
However, the hard-right Confederation could prove to be a thorn in the side of the current government, which is polling at 13 percent and is widely tipped to be a kingmaker in the October election. The governing PiS will find it almost impossible with current trends to attain a parliamentary majority without the Confederation’s support which so far has not been forthcoming.
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The party has ruled out a potential coalition with the current government, offering itself as a vehicle for disillusioned Poles to punish the mainstream political parties.
Last month, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the government’s intention to hold a referendum on the EU’s controversial Migration Pact on the same day as the election in a bid to increase turnout by conservatives.
“Illegal immigration is a major problem that Western Europe is currently facing,” he told voters at the time.
“The Polish nation will not agree to it,” added party leader Jarosław Kaczyński when commenting on the migration reforms proposed by Brussels. “A referendum is necessary, and we will organize it,” he said.
