WARSAW (Reuters) -Nationalist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) won the popular vote in Poland's local government elections, final results showed on Monday, in a setback for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's ambitions to cement his grip on power.
While Tusk did not succeed in leading his Civic Coalition (KO) grouping to first place in the election independently of its partners in the ruling alliance, it will nevertheless control more regional councils than PiS.
The election was closely watched in Brussels ahead of European Parliament elections in June, when Europe-wide opinion polls suggest the populist right will perform well.
PiS won the popular with 34.27%, according to final results from the electoral commission, and now control seven out of 16 regional councils.
KO, the largest grouping in the ruling alliance, had 30.59% of the vote but control nine regional councils.
PiS's lead in terms of vote share was larger than forecast in an exit poll on Sunday. However, the three groupings that form the coalition government won more than 50% of the vote combined.
"The first step is behind us," PiS Chairman Mariusz Blaszczak said in a post on social media platform X. "We are heading for victory in the European Parliament elections!"
However, KO did well in mayoral elections in large cities, with its candidates winning outright in the first round of voting in the capital Warsaw and the northern port city of Gdansk.
Political observers said the strong showing in the capital by incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, 52, bolstered his prospects for being nominated to run for president in an election due next year.
A second round of voting is due in two weeks in areas where mayoral candidates failed to win more than 50% of votes.
Voters cast ballots to choose members of 16 regional assemblies - whose composition roughly reflects support for the main parties - as well as thousands of local councillors and mayors.
Turnout was 52%.