‘I worry about the future of my country’: Polish people living in Ireland prepare to vote in crucial election

The number of Polish people in Ireland expected to vote in their domestic elections on Sunday is almost double that of the last contest, a pattern repeated elsewhere abroad and reflecting how important its citizens believe the outcome to be.

The battle to form a government between the ruling Law and Justice (Pis) party and an opposition led by former European Council president Donald Tusk is considered by many to be the most important election in Europe this year.

This weekend, about 24,500 Polish nationals living in Ireland, or about 20 per cent of the 125,000 total, are registered to vote across 11 polling stations, with most expected to cast their ballots.

The heated run-up has proven divisive, creating an atmosphere that could explain the high number of registrations.

EU enlargement anniversary overshadowed by concerns about Russia

---

‘On the precipice of a large scale massacre’: Sudan’s war escalates with dizzying speed

---

Who is Jordan Bardella, the young face of the French far right?

---

The lesson of Joe Biden’s presidency? Charisma and eloquence are overrated

---

“Last time in 2019, abroad in the whole world, 300,000 people registered themselves to take part in the election but this year around the world it’s more than 600,000,” says Joanna Kossykowska, a member of the Polish election commission in Ireland and chairwoman of the Cork-based Together-Razem Centre, which expects about 2,000 voters at its polling station.

Given her official capacity, Kossykowska is reluctant to discuss the politics but agrees the electorate is more exercised this time around, engaging in more ardent debate.

[ Poland’s opposition leader Donald Tusk calls for change at massive Warsaw rally ]

Recent polling has put PiS at 35 per cent and Tusk’s Civic Platform at about 30 per cent, all but ruling out a majority for either party.

A PiS victory could be seen to bolster populism and Euroscepticism within the country and farther afield, while a win for Civic Platform would help rebalance Europe, pulling Poland in the opposite direction to that of Hungary, and more recently Italy and Slovakia.

The Polish embassy in Ireland says citizens living here can only vote in person at polling stations – it expects the turnout to broadly match the number of registered voters.

“There has been a huge interest, therefore we have more polling stations than in the last election,” says Maciej Wójcik, head of consular and Polish diaspora section.

Outside a food shop with many Polish customers in central Dublin, Sabastian Iwanieuk (22) says he intends to vote for the right-wing Confederation party, one of those that could help prop up a new coalition and that has become increasingly popular among young men.

“The country is separate for two groups,” he says of the social divisions, adding his own scepticism that anything will change after the election. “There is a big fight. If you have different opinion they are going to attack you. This is every time.”

[ The Irish Times view on the Polish election: a key moment for the country and the EU ]

In Galway, businesswoman Barbara Lesniak, who has been involved with the Polish community since relocating here in 2005, says she will support Tusk.

“I worry about the future of my country,” she says. “It’s not only because of [the] geopolitical position of Poland and what is happening in the world. The results of the election in Poland will have huge impact for the future of EU and in eastern Europe. There is a lot of implications – political, economical – for everyone involved.”

Lesniak shares concerns there may not be enough time to count expat votes given their volume. A recent controversial law states that overseas counts, which tend to lean towards the opposition, must be submitted within 24 hours or be discarded. Simultaneous referendum votes are also being cast on Sunday, placing additional pressures on time.

However, the ruling PiS also has its followers in Ireland. At the exit of a supermarket, an older voter, a construction worker who gives his name only as Stefan, says the country’s economy has improved since it came to power in 2015.

“Two-and-a-half million people go out of Poland to Ireland, to everywhere ... nine to 12 years ago,” he says of its predecessor. “Many people emigrated looking for a job. I am here in Ireland [because of] that before party of bullshit. No good.”