WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish voters were casting ballots in local elections Sunday that were the first nationwide test of support for the conservative ruling party, whose policies have produced street protests and repeated clashes with European Union leaders.
The election is for offices ranging from city mayors to village councilors. The ruling right-wing Law and Justice party is hoping to strengthen its firm grip on power, which has been buoyed by handing out social benefits and questioning how much authority the EU should have over member nations.
EU leaders say changes the ruling party has made to Poland's judiciary threaten the rule of law in the country and have triggered a sanctioning procedure.
The vote Sunday will also measure the strength of the opposition, which is centered on the pro-EU Civic Platform party that governed Poland for eight years before Law and Justice came to power in 2015.
Campaigning had targeted Poland's largest cities — such as Warsaw, Poznan, Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdansk — which are traditionally pro-EU, and where the opposition is in control of local governments. Any losses in the cities would be seen as a defeat for the opposition.
In Warsaw, in a rare sight, voters had to stand in lines at many voting stations to get their ballots. They said that voter mobilization was very high in the race between the EU-skeptic and pro-EU main political forces.
"I have never seen so many people voting, this is a good thing. The question is will this be enough for (pro-EU Civic) Platform to keep power" in Warsaw, said Aneta Benedyk, as she stood in line in southern Warsaw.
The State Electoral Commission said that by noon (1000 GMT) in Warsaw about 17 percent of voters had cast their ballots. The nationwide turnout at the same time was 15.62 percent.
Sunday is the first round of voting. If mayoral candidates don't win at least 50 percent of the vote, runoffs will be held on Nov. 4.
New rules have introduced see-through ballot boxes and separate committees will handle the balloting and the vote count. Full official results are expected late Tuesday or Wednesday.
Poland's local elections kick off a string of crucial votes that include the European Parliament vote in May, the national parliament vote in the fall of 2019 and Poland's presidential election in the spring of 2020.
