Poland: Ruling Party May Avoid Warsaw Mayor Recall on Low Turnout | Bloomberg

Poland’s ruling party may have avoided the ouster of Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz after polls showed yesterday’s recall vote fell short of the minimum turnout required. About 26.8 percent of Warsaw’s 1.33 million registered voters cast ballots in the recall referendum, less than the minimum 389,430, or 29 percent, required to validate the measure, according to a late exit poll by Warsaw-based researcher TNS for broadcaster TVN24. Official results will be released by the State Election Commission later today. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his ruling Civic Platform party called on supporters to block the recall by boycotting the referendum. Of those who voted, 95 percent favored recalling Gronkiewicz-Waltz, a deputy chairman of the ruling party who had angered Varsovians with utility-price increases and delays in public works. Her support is dropping as backing for the party, the first to win back-to-back elections since the fall of communism in 1989, dropped below the opposition Law and Justice for the first time in six years.

Poland: Donald Tusk seems set for 2nd term, a first in post-communist Poland | The Washington Post

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk enjoyed a strong lead over his conservative rival and predecessor Jaroslaw Kaczynski in parliamentary elections, with his centrist party set to become the first ever in Poland’s post-communist era to win a second consecutive term. That feat underlines the growing political stability in Poland, a central European nation of 38 million whose economy has flourished since it joined the European Union in 2004.

Official results are expected Monday, but exit polls released after Sunday’s voting gave a comfortable lead to Tusk’s Civic Platform, a centrist and pro-European party that has presided over the four years of growth even amid decline elsewhere on the continent.

Poland: Arab Spring activists observing Poland’s election | The Associated Press

A group of Arab Spring activists observing Polish parliamentary elections are championing the spirit of civil society, and say such ballots back home will be milestones in turning hard-won freedoms into lasting democracy.

Fifteen activists and election officials — five from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya — met Friday with deputy foreign ministers Krzysztof Stanowski and Jerzy Pomianowski. They also held a meeting with the members and judges of the State Electoral Commission. Poland is to hold parliamentary elections on Sunday, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform party presently leading in opinion polls.

Following this year’s wave of Arab Spring revolutions, the first free elections in decades are to be held in Tunisia on Oct. 23 and in Egypt at the end of November. No elections are yet scheduled for Libya, where dictator Moammar Gadhafi remains in hiding.

Poland: OSCE/ODIHR opens mission to assess parliamentary elections in Poland | ODIHR

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election assessment mission for the parliamentary elections to be held in Poland on 9 October.

The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the government of Poland. As a participating State of the OSCE, Poland has committed itself to invite ODIHR to observe its elections.

The mission is led by Julian Peel Yates and consists of six international election experts from six OSCE participating States. The mission will be based in Warsaw but will visit other areas of Poland.

Poland: Election Campaign Fails to Change Trends | WSJ

Poland’s parliamentary election campaign has so far offered little beyond PR stunts, which haven’t visibly impacted voters’ preferences five weeks ahead of election day. The ruling party continues to have a commanding lead over rival conservatives.

The Civic Platform party, which has governed Poland since 2007 in a stable coalition with the Peasants’ Party, would get 32% of the vote, while the conservative Law and Justice party would get 24%, according to a poll by Homo Homini for daily Super Express. The Democratic Left Alliance would get 12%, and the ruling party’s agrarian coalition partner would get 7%.

Poland: General election set for 9 October | news.pl

President Bronislaw Komorowski announced this morning that Poland’s general election will take place on 9 October.

“According to the article 98 of the Polish Constitution, from today 4 August, we officially start the election calendar,” Komrowski said, signaling the start of the election campaign. “We have already set a date for the electoral day for the Parliament and Senate, which will be on the 9th October 2011,” he added. On the idea mooted that the election should take place over two, and not one, day – in an attempt to boost Poland’s moderate turnout during ballots.

Poland: Parties prepare ‘virtual’ campaigns in Poland | thenews.pl

Poland’s political parties are being compelled to focus on the Internet for their forthcoming electoral campaigns, as several traditional methods of promotion have been banned under new laws.

Campaigns for the autumn’s ballot, whose date has been unofficially set by President Bronislaw Komorowski as taking place on 9 October, will formally commence in August, but this year parties are prohibited from using billboards and television commercials.

As a result, the Internet is emerging as a key battleground for the competing parties.

Poland: Opposition party unhappy at election date | The Warsaw Voice

The leftwing opposition Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party has criticized President Bronislaw Komorowski’s decision to hold parliamentary elections on Oct. 9, arguing that the timing would benefit the government.

“The opposition will have less time to put forward their proposals and their accusations against the ruling party,” SLD spokesman Tomasz Kalita was quoted as saying by the Rzeczpospolita daily.