Poland’s eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS) has claimed victory in a watershed election that risks putting the ex-communist state on a collision course with key European Union allies.
Run by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the identical twin brother of Poland’s late president Lech who died in a plane crash in 2010, PiS secured 39.1 per cent of the vote on Sunday, enough to govern alone and well ahead of the incumbent, staunchly pro-EU Civic Platform (PO) at 23.4 per cent, said pollster Ipsos.
If the exit poll is correct, the victory by PiS would be the biggest in terms of seats by a single party since Poland held free elections after shedding communism in 1989 - marking a decisive swing to its brand of social conservativism mixed with left-leaning economics in the country of 38 million people.
It would also be the first time that the socialist grouping that grew out of the pre-1989 communist party failed to win seats in parliament.
A triumphant Kaczynski, whose party immediately signalled plans to reap new revenues from next year with a tax on bank assets, declared victory.