Poland: Law and Justice party's Kaczynski casts general election vote

Chairman of the Law and Justice (PiS) party Jaroslaw Kaczynski cast his vote in the Polish general election at a polling station in Warsaw, Sunday. According to several polls PiS were leading the polls by 10 percent going in to the election ahead of incumbent Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz's Civic Platform (PO) party. PiS is opposed to Poland joining the eurozone and is highly sceptical of the European Union (EU). The party also believes in a strong NATO presence in Poland to combat perceived Russian aggression from the east. With a strong anti-immigration message, the party gained an electoral boost as a result of the influx of refugees and migrants into Europe in recent months. In May, the party achieved victory in the Polish presidential election when Andrzej Duda was voted in ahead of now former-president Bronislaw Komorowski. Most polls predict that PiS will achieve just over 30 percent of the votes, meaning they will likely still have to form a coalition with smaller parties to achieve a majority in parliament. If the right-wing party fails to form a coalition, Kopacz's centre-right PO party, who have led Poland for eight years, could still retain power with the help of left-leaning parties like United Left. The lower house of Poland's parliament, the Sejm, consists of 460 members. The members are elected by a system of proportional representation in Poland's 41 constituencies.