The Polish election of 2023: mobilisation in defence of liberal democracy

Abstract

The 2023 election in Poland brought to an end the rule of the Law and Justice (PiS) party. With an extraordinary turnout of 74%, the highest in recent Polish history, 13.2 million voters cast their vote in support of parties other than PiS, with four liberal-democratic parties alone attracting over 11.6 million votes. This shift indicates a departure from the period of selective demobilisation of the liberal-democratic camp and selective overmobilisation of the right-wing camp inclined to protect the traditional-religious world in decline. The campaign deviated from ‘normal politics’, focusing instead on the principles of constitutional democracy, as the 8-year PiS rule marked the erosion of the rule of law. The election itself, while free, was unfair and unequal, attributed to the actions of the outgoing political camp. Paradoxically, however, the camp responsible for these violations failed to secure enough support to form a government. The new government now faces a complex array of challenges. It must restore the constitutional order, manage two electoral campaigns (local and European), and rebuild relationships with the EU as a pivotal objective. It also faces the necessity to foster Western support for Ukraine, which requires careful navigation of domestic and international challenges.

Keywords:

• Elections
• Poland
• rule of law
• democratic backsliding
• EU

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This work was supported by National Science Centre (NCN), Poland, grant number 2018/31/B/HS5/03403.

2 Other recent reports in the Elections in Context series include Kosiara- Pedersen (2023), Durovic (2023), Garzia (2023), and Arter (2024).

3 https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/10/09/polands-election-in-charts/.

4 Both projects were approved and financed by the Polish National Center of Science (NCN).

5 This quote and the folllowing to be found at the official OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) page [https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/poland/555072, accessed on 25/02/2024].

6 See R. Markowski, ‘Co politologia mówi o referendum i pytaniach PiS’, Rzeczspolita [https://www.rp.pl/publicystyka/art38960441-radoslaw-markowski-co-politologia-mowi-o-referendum-i-pytaniach-pis].

7 Alongside the elelction Poles have been asked to vote on four referendum questions, ranging from the issue of removal of the barrier on the Bellorussian border, raising the retirenment age, selling national assets to foreign entities as well as on the admission of immigrants under the EU relocation mechanism.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Radoslaw Markowski

Radoslaw Markowski is Professor of Political Science, SWPS University and Polish Academy of Sciences. He is PI of the Polish National Election Study (1995–2024). His main interests are electoral research, democratisation, and party systems. [[email protected]]