Poles participated in the second round of local government elections 

On Sunday, Poles elected local authorities in a total of 748 locations across Poland. Donald Tusk summed up at the press conference the result achieved by his formation. 

“In the local government elections, it’s very difficult to say unequivocally who won, who lost. A lot of candidates are independent, they represent independent committees. But if, especially in the most attractive places, we compare the results of the two main political forces, i.e. Civic Platform and PiS, I actually have reasons to be satisfied. PiS simply disappeared in many places,” concluded the head of government.

In many cities and towns, where the second round of elections took place, PiS didn’t have a candidate at all.

Turnout in the second round of local government elections was 44 percent.

Women took matters into their own hands 

In the coming term, Tricity will be run by women. In Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz won again in the first round of the election, and in Sopot, the incumbent mayor will be replaced by Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim. Gdynia elected in in the second round Aleksandra Kosiorek as mayor. 

“There are some very symbolic places, such as the Tricity, which has become a woman. In political terms, Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia, in the second round, elected female mayors. Another seaside towns, where it happened, are Kołobrzeg and Świnoujście. Indeed, women are taking matters into their own hands,” Donald Tusk said. 

Prime minister added that this could be a very good trend in the local governments.

Local government elections were a celebration of democracy  

The results of the local government elections brought surprises in some places. This proves that Polish voters aren’t guided in their decisions by regional traditions and old habits.  

“The myth that there are some strongholds of certain parties, strongholds of PiS is collapsing today. In every voivodeship, every commune, every district, Poland has different views, different interests, there are different people, of different backgrounds. But in fact, in any place you can expect surprises when there are interesting candidates,” admitted the prime minister.

The head of government pointed Zakopane as an example, as it used to be a so-called stronghold of PiS. 

“Local government elections showed that Poland is everywhere. We sometimes argue or quarrel but these are the Poles who choose and they don’t necessarily stick to the tradition of the given locality. This is a good sing, as it greatly revitalises the democracy. Power isn’t given once and for all,” added Donald Tusk.

Prime minister stressed that he was particularly proud of those places where voters had made unexpected decisions.

Next stop: European Parliament elections 

After the parliamentary and local government elections, time will come to elect representatives to the European Parliament.

“I’m counting on people  to believe, during the campaign for the European Parliament elections, that this is an important election too. I know that the second round of local government elections is barely over, but I want to emphasise very much: never, really never, before have European Parliament elections had such an impact,” Donald Tusk pointed out.

Prime minister announced that he would mobilise Polish citizens to cast their vote.

“These elections will really decide the fate of Europe and Poland, our security, the geopolitical situation. I’ll talk about it every day. That’s why I’m counting on people and I’ll use all the means at my disposal to mobilise them. So that everyone understands that sometimes seemingly abstract choices will actually determine our lives and the lives of our children,” said the head of government.

Voting will take place on June 9!