Poland: Right-wing Law and Justice party wins elections

ANKARA

Poland's conservative Law and Justice party has won the parliamentary elections held on Saturday.

On Monday, outgoing Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, conceded defeat.

A final vote count is still taking place, but exit polls by television station TVP showed the Law and Justice party taking 242 out of the 460 seats in the lower house of parliament, while the Civic Platform party won only 133 seats, with 23.4 percent of the vote.

It would be the first time since democracy was restored in Poland, which had been a Soviet Union satellite, that a single party is able to form a government in Poland, if the exit poll figures prove accurate.

The 52-year-old Beata Szydło, a former MP, is expected to be named prime minister.

“This was a great time. We would not be here were it not for your hard work. The head of the party [Jarosław Kaczyński] deserves the biggest praise today," Szydlo said in a speech at her campaign headquarters on Sunday.

Kaczynski, brother of Poland's late president Lech, is seen as the architect of his party's winning campaign. But Kaczynski gave up the prime minister spot to Szydlo, because she is seen as more moderate than Kaczynski, a hard-line right-winger.

The migrants issue was seen as key to the election, as the outgoing government has agreed to take in 7,000 refugees under a scheme proposed by the EU.

The Law and Justice party, which is close to the Roman Catholic Church, has strongly opposed the move. It has also proposed a ban on abortions, and has declared strong support for NATO.

ANKARA

Poland's conservative Law and Justice party has won the parliamentary elections held on Saturday.

On Monday, outgoing Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, conceded defeat.

The 52-year-old Beata Szydło, a former MP, is expected to be named prime minister.

The migrants issue was seen as key to the election, as the outgoing government has agreed to take in 7,000 refugees under a scheme proposed by the EU.

The Law and Justice party, which is close to the Roman Catholic Church, has strongly opposed the move. It has also proposed a ban on abortions, and has declared strong support for NATO.