Poland to Convene Parliament on Nov. 13 After Ballot, Duda Says

By Wojciech Moskwa and Maciej Martewicz, Bloomberg | 26 October 2023

Polish President Andrzej Duda will convene parliament on Nov. 13, starting the handover process after three opposition parties jointly won a majority in this month’s general election.

Duda didn’t say who he will designate as prime minister. He said on Thursday that there were two “serious” candidates for the post: Premier Mateusz Morawiecki, whose Law & Justice party won the most votes in the ballot, and opposition candidate Donald Tusk, a former European Council president.

The President must designate a prime minister within 14 days of the first sitting. That person will then have two weeks to win a parliamentary vote of confidence.

If Duda’s nominee fails, the lower chamber will be free to choose and hold a confidence vote in its own candidate for prime minister — a step which is seen resulting in a Tusk-led coalition cabinet.

The three-party opposition bloc, which won 248 out of the lower house’s 460 seats, seeks to improve Poland’s relations with the European Union, which became strained during eight years of populist rule. Tusk is in Brussels this week to lobby EU leaders for the release of funds blocked over rule of law concerns.