There are approximately 190,000 registered candidates running for local government positions, including mayor and councillors.
Poles are set to vote in local elections, the first test of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition government nearly four months after it was formed.
Voters on Sunday will elect mayors, city councilors and state parliament members, with nearly 190,000 registered candidates running for local government jobs in the central European country of 38 million people.
Mr. Tusk's appointment as prime minister in December marked a turning point for the eastern European Union's largest country, marking a break from eight years of nationalist rule that had put Warsaw at odds with its Western allies. It placed the country in a resolutely professional position. -European course.
Mr. Tusk's broad coalition government won a majority in parliamentary elections in October on a promise to reverse judicial reforms implemented by the previous government, which while promoting the rights of women and minorities. Critics say it undermines the independence of the court.
He insisted on Sunday that a victory for the liberal Civic Union (KO), the largest group in the ruling coalition, was essential if Poland was to avoid a return to nationalist rule by the Law and Justice Party (PiS). .
“Our dream, which was once a beautiful dream and is now an increasingly better reality, may end overnight,” he told a rally in Warsaw on Friday before the election blackout began. Told.
“If someone believes that freedom, human rights, women’s rights, democracy, free economy, self-government, all these things are permanent, then we can protect ourselves…we will lose everything again I guess.”
PiS has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has undermined democracy and human rights.
“yellow card”
The vote is also a chance for Tusk to consolidate KO's dominance in government, as the three groups that make up the ruling coalition are running in separate elections.
European Parliament elections are scheduled for June, and Sunday's results will be closely watched in Brussels.
Mr Tusk has unblocked billions of dollars in EU funds that had been frozen over rule of law concerns and embarked on sweeping changes to the courts and state media, while failing to fulfill many of his campaign promises. It has also faced criticism over its lack of commitments and questions over the legality of some of its pledges. Reforms especially regarding the media.
For PiS leader Jarosław Kaczynski, the local elections are a chance to send a warning to the government, which he accuses of lying about what it can achieve and the previous government's track record.
“We have a chance to present a yellow card to the authorities in charge of Warsaw today,” he told supporters on Friday, referring to the way soccer referees warn players.
If a mayoral candidate does not receive at least 50% of the votes in Sunday's first round, a runoff election will be held two weeks later on April 21.
