Computer glitch hampering local election vote count

Members of the electoral commission in Lodz. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Michalowski

Poland's National Electoral Commission (PKW) had claimed on Tuesday morning that the problem had been fixed.

However, electoral commissions in the Warmia and Masuria region have already complained that the situation has not been remedied.

“The records are not printing,” said Andrzej Swidzinski, head of the District Electoral Commission in Nidzica.

“We are appalled by the whole situation.”

Electronic problems with the vote count occurred from the outset after polling stations closed at 9 pm local time on Sunday.

An exit poll by Ipsos forecast that conservative opposition party Law and Justice had triumphed in Poland's regional assemblies.

According to Ipsos, Law and Justice won 31.5 percent of the vote, Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz's centre-right party 27.3 percent, junior coalition partner The Polish Peasants' Party 17 percent, and the Democratic Left Alliance 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the mayoral candidates in several of Poland's major cities, including Bydgoszcz, Gdansk and Krakow, appear destined for a second round after exit polls indicated no clear majority. (nh)

Source: PAP/IAR