Politics

Polish local elections: Voting body reports 39.4% turnout as of 5 p.m.

The turnout in the Sunday local elections amounted to 39.43% as of 5 p.m., the National Electoral Commission (PKW) announced during a press conference held at 6.30 p.m.

This is a drop in the turnout compared to the election of 2018 when it stood at 41.65% by 5 p.m.

Earlier, PKW reported a 16.52% turnout by noon, compared to 15.62% at the same time of the day in 2018.

Justice Sylwester Marciniak, head of the PKW, also compared the turnout to the parliamentary elections held on October 15 last year, when 57% of voters had cast their ballots as of 5 p.m.

The highest turnout was recorded in the Świętokrzyskie province (42.64%) in central Poland and the lowest in the Opolskie province (35%). in southern Poland.

Świętokrzyskie took the lead ahead of Podlaskie province, northeastern Poland, where the turnout reached 19.1% by noon. At midday, Opolskie was already lagging behind the rest of the country, with the turnout record at just 14.23%.

When it comes to cities, Warsaw, Poland’s capital recorded the highest turnout (41.59%), maintaining the lead it held at noon with 16.45%. The city also boosted overall turnout in the Mazowieckie province (42.38%), making it a runner-up to Świętokrzyskie.

Local elections started in Poland at 7 am. Polling stations will close at 9 pm. A run-off round, if necessary, will be held on April 21.

The number of eligible voters stands at 28,895,220. In addition to Polish citizens, citizens of other EU countries, as well as the UK, are eligible to participate in the election of communal assemblies’ councilors (or municipal councilors in towns and cities) as well as mayors, provided they registered to vote. They are not, however, eligible to elect councilors to county and provincial diets.
Source: PAP, TVP World
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