Women and youth oust Polish ruling party
After a close and divisive elections, Poland's ruling party PiS has lost their majority, and the opposition is set to take over. Why? Because women and youth turned out in droves to voice their opinions about the country's future.
lellens
After a brutal campaign and close election last Sunday, Poland's ruling party--the socially conservative PiS--lost their parliamentary majority, ushering in an opporunity for the opposition parties to form a center-left coalition.
This election saw record-breaking turnout, with 74% of registered voters casting their ballot. Queues on election day were long, with some voters waiting over 6 hours to turn in their ballot. The huge turnout was largely precipitated by robust social media campaigns and calls from celebrities to go out and vote. This was particularly true among young people, as voters under age 29 increased their voting rate by 20% compared to last election.
These young voters voted overwhelmingly for change. The opposition parties marketed this election as a last chance to save the country's democracy, and young voters took this message to heart. During their years in power, PiS limited access to abortion and regularly sparred with the EU over issues such as migration, LGBTQ rights, and other controversial topics. The leader of the opposition, Donald Tusk, has promised to change much of this, a message that resonated with many of Poland's young voters and women.
Though the road to reform may be long, young voters expressed hope and joy with the election results, some of them almost crying in happiness. For many, it was the first time they felt their vote mattered, and most felt optimistic about their country's future.
