Polish Election Upends Right-Wing Ruling Party

WARSAW—Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party fell short of the seats needed to form a government on Sunday, an exit poll showed, putting the opposition on track for a majority coalition after a divisive election watched closely by the U.S. and Ukraine.

The results potentially close a chapter of rule by PiS, as the party is known in Polish. It steered the country through the turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the opposition has said its leadership was marked by a steady rolling back of democratic freedoms and the rule of law. Without any one party with an absolute majority, the results portend a period of horse trading as parties decide among themselves the makeup of what would be a ruling coalition.

The opposition Civic Platform under former European Council President Donald Tusk won 31% of the vote, an Ipsos poll published early Monday showed. The Third Way alliance had 13.5%, with the Left party at 8.6%, giving the three groups a total of 248 seats in the 460-strong lower house of parliament.