Official results from the European elections in Poland show that the Civic Coalition (KO) of Prime Minister Donald Tusk came first, with 37.06% of the vote. Oposition  Law and Justice (PiS) party obtained 36.16%. Confederation finished third with 12.08% of the vote. The turnout rate was 40.65%, the lowest in any elections in Poland since 2014. In Hungary, the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition won with 44.3% of the votes. In the Czech Republic, the ANO Movement won, securing 26.14% of the votes. Meanwhile, in Slovakia, the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) triumphed, receiving 27.8% of the votes.

Photo by OLIVIER HOSLET/PAP/EPA

Hope for Europe

The remaining members of the ruling coalition in Poland - Third Way and the Left - received 6.9 percent and 6.3 percent of the votes, respectively.

The outcome indicates that yesterday's elections mark the first time since 2014 that PiS did not come in first. "We have been waiting for this first place on the podium for exactly 10 years. Today we showed that we are a light of hope for Europe," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “Poland has shown that democracy triumphs here. Thanks to your steadfast attitude, Poland is a leader of the European Union.”

PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, meanwhile, admitted on Sunday night that his party must “draw conclusions from what can be seen on the maps”. "This result is a great challenge for us. We have been at the same level lately. We know what to do to increase this result. We will unite and there is no doubt that the path to victory in these most important elections, first the presidential and then the parliamentary ones, is open. Despite the hellish attack, we are heading in the right direction," said the PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński.