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| Poland elections: Conservatives secure decisive win | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Poland's conservative opposition Law and Justice party has won parliamentary elections. | |
| Exit polls suggest it has enough seats to govern alone, with an anticipated 39% of the vote. | Exit polls suggest it has enough seats to govern alone, with an anticipated 39% of the vote. |
| Its eurosceptic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has claimed victory, and the outgoing Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, has admitted defeat. | Its eurosceptic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has claimed victory, and the outgoing Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz of the centrist Civic Platform party, has admitted defeat. |
| Law and Justice has strong support in Poland's rural areas. | Law and Justice has strong support in Poland's rural areas. |
| If the numbers suggested by the exit poll are confirmed, it will be the first time since democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern alone, the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw says. | If the numbers suggested by the exit poll are confirmed, it will be the first time since democracy was restored in Poland in 1989 that a single party has won enough seats to govern alone, the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw says. |
| Europe's refugee crisis also proved to be a key topic of debate before the election. While the government has agreed to take in 7,000 migrants, opposition parties have spoken out against the move. | Europe's refugee crisis also proved to be a key topic of debate before the election. While the government has agreed to take in 7,000 migrants, opposition parties have spoken out against the move. |
| Mr Kaczynski, 66, is not running as prime minister and has instead nominated Beata Szydlo, a relative unknown, as the party's choice for the post. | Mr Kaczynski, 66, is not running as prime minister and has instead nominated Beata Szydlo, a relative unknown, as the party's choice for the post. |
| However, some observers said Mr Kaczynski could take on the top job himself if Law and Justice scored a convincing victory. | However, some observers said Mr Kaczynski could take on the top job himself if Law and Justice scored a convincing victory. |
| The Law and Justice party is close to the country's powerful Roman Catholic Church and has promised increased benefits and tax breaks, | |
| Europe's refugee crisis proved to be a key topic of debate before the election. The outgoing government's decision to take in 7,000 migrants was strongly criticised by Law and Justice and other opposition parties. | |
| Last week, Mr Kaczynski was criticised for suggesting migrants could bring diseases and parasites to Poland. | |
| Civic Platform for its part sought closer ties with the EU. | |
| Despite overseeing eight years of impressive economic growth it was beaten into second place and is likely to become the main opposition party. | |
| Our correspondent says that Poland has swung to the right because many Poles feel they have not benefitted from the growth and about two million have sought better-paid jobs abroad. |