The "most important election in Poland since 1989 and the fall of communism" will take place on Sunday, according to opposition leader Donald Tusk.
Unheard of in Poland since 1989, the populist, right-wing United Right coalition, led by the Law and Justice party, is vying for a third term in office.
Prior to the Sejm (lower house of parliament) and Senate elections on October 15, however, the margin between the right and center has shrunk following a particularly contentious election campaign.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Poland has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine. However, the relationship has soured recently due to a Polish restriction on Ukrainian grain.
Additionally, Warsaw has taken a combative stance toward the EU and has been charged with weakening
Who is running for office?
Jaroslaw Kaczynski's ruling party, which has been in power since 2015, is ahead in the polls but may find it difficult to put together a coalition to secure an outright majority.
The Democratic Coalition (KO), which is led by Donald Tusk's party, is also composed of the Third Way and The Left, two additional moderate parties.
"Big change is on the horizon. In the lead-up to the vote, he addressed a crowd of supporters numbering in the hundreds of thousands, saying, "This is a sign of Poland's rebirth."
He served as Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014 before taking office as president of the European Council. Mateusz Morawiecki, the current prime minister, accused him of doing as told by Berlin and Brussels, particularly when it came to taking
Law and Justice may need the support of the far-right Confederation party, or Konfederacja in Polish, in order to secure enough seats to maintain their majority.
a large anti-government demonstration in Warsaw, Poland .
WHAT KEY POLITICAL ISSUES ARE THERE ?
Before the election, one of the most divisive topics is migration.
Law and Justice have stepped up its rhetoric against immigrants, alleging that the EU and the opposition aim to impose Muslim immigrants on a nation that is predominately Roman Catholic. The administration has declined to accept asylum seekers who arrive in the EU from other nations.
What key political issues are there?
Before the election, one of the most divisive topics is migration.
Law and Justice have stepped up its rhetoric against immigrants, alleging that the EU and the opposition aim to impose Muslim immigrants on a nation that is predominately Roman Catholic. Asylum seekers who arrive in the EU through other nations have been turned away by the administration.
Mr. Kaczynski asks voters in a political ad: "Do you want us to stop being masters of our own country? Read what I'm saying: "Poles do not want this, and neither do Law and Justice."
But because it oversaw the biggest immigration wave in recent memory, the opposition has charged the ruling party with being hypocritical. Additionally, it emphasized
It has also drawn attention to claims that bribes were accepted in exchange for the issuance of EU border-free Schengen visas by Polish consulates in the Middle East and Africa. The EU claims it is still awaiting clarification from Warsaw regarding what took place.
The campaign has also been significantly impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine has received more than $3 billion in armaments from Poland. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared last month that Ukraine would stop providing weaponry and would instead concentrate on replenishing its own depleting stockpiles amid concerns over the country's grain exports.
In Poland, where they were warmly received in the early months of Russia's full-scale invasion, more than a million Ukrainian refugees now reside.
However, as the campaign heated up, the government
However, when the campaign heated up, the government claimed that Ukraine was not appreciative, and President Andrzej Duda compared his neighbor to someone who is sinking and is dragging a rescuer to the bottom.
However, as the debate heated up, the government suggested that Ukraine was not appreciative, and President Andrzej Duda compared his neighbor to someone who is sinking and is dragging a rescuer to the bottom.
Far-right The lone party, Konfederacja, opposes Ukrainian immigration and has criticized the government's plan to provide aid to refugees.
The PiS is a socially conservative party at its core, and in the run-up to the election, it highlighted its Catholic family values by enacting legislation that increased child support payments by 60% to 800 zloty.
Between January of 2015 and January of the following year, it more than quadrupled the minimum wage and gave both young and old people free prescription medications.
Additionally, more than 10 million seniors who make up a substantial portion of Poland's electorate are eligible for incentives.
However, the party has come under fire over the tightening of abortion regulations in 2020, which Agnieszka Kubal of University College London claims removed "almost all avenues to having a legal abortion".
Additionally, it has been charged with influencing the body in Poland that chooses judges, appointing favorable justices to the Constitutional Tribunal and Supreme Court, and enacting laws to retaliate against judges who oppose governmental reforms.
The EU's Court of Justice fined the government a record €1 million each day until the Court concluded in June that Poland had in fact broken the bloc's regulations after the European Commission said Poland's system for penalizing judges violated EU law.
Although the PiS maintains that the reforms were implemented to shorten drawn-out courtroom battles and root out judicial corruption, the EU has withheld €36 billion (£30 billion) in Covid pandemic recovery funding up until the changes are undone.
If elected, Donald Tusk has pledged to swiftly unlock EU funding. He emphasized that Poland was the only nation that had not yet reaped the rewards of the recovery funds.
He has also expressed concern that PiS would force Poland to leave the EU, a concern the ruling party disputes.
The election outcomes may have a significant effect on how we interact with the EU.
If he prevails, Tusk promises to undo the judicial modifications right away, according to Agnieszka Kubal. However, given their support for the Law and Justice Part
NOT JUST A GENRAL ELECTION
In an apparent effort to get more of its electorate to vote, Poles have also been given four items to vote on in a referendum in addition to the next government. The four questions all presume a negative response and enquire whether:
Public firms ought to be privatized.
The retirement age needs to rise.
The border fence with Belarus should be taken down.
The rest of the EU should send more migrants to Poland.
While the opposition has no plans to implement any of the ideas, PiS rejects each and every one of them.
Voters should abstain from the referendum, according to opposition parties, which claim that the questions are framed in an unfair manner.
