Official PKW results — status: final
The EP election of 26 May 2019 was held three months before the pivotal parliamentary election and served as a dress rehearsal. PiS won 45.38% and 27 of Poland's 52 seats — its best-ever result. The opposition consolidated into the broad European Coalition (PO, PSL, SLD, Nowoczesna, Greens), winning 38.47% and 22 seats. Robert Biedroń's Spring debuted with 6.06% and 3 seats. Turnout of 45.68% broke every Polish EP record, approaching the level of parliamentary elections — a sign of the intense political polarisation since 2015.
The result was read as a signal for the autumn parliamentary campaign: PiS entered it as the dominant force, while the high opposition turnout signalled growing social tension. Five months later, in the Sejm election of 13 October 2019, PiS won 43.59% and retained its outright majority (235 seats), while KO fell to 27.40% — a consequence of fragmentation, as PSL, SLD and Spring stood separately.
Frequently asked questions
Poland uses a proportional system with a 5% threshold (no higher threshold for coalitions — unlike Sejm elections). The country is divided into 13 constituencies, with seats allocated using the d'Hondt method. Voters choose a party list and indicate a preferred candidate.
Poland had 52 seats in 2019 (one more than in 2014, one less than in 2024). All 52 were filled — PiS won 27, the European Coalition (KO+PSL+SLD+N) 22, and Spring 3.
Turnout of 45.68% was a record for Polish EP elections — the previous record was around 25%. Strong polarisation after PiS's judiciary reforms mobilised both PiS voters and the opposition in large numbers. The result served as a "dress rehearsal" before the October parliamentary elections.
After the 2019 election: the European Coalition (PO+PSL+SLD+N) — mainly EPP and S&D; PiS — European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which it has anchored since 2009; Spring — S&D.
PiS recorded its best-ever European result — 45.38% and 27 of 52 seats — on the strength of its flagship social programmes (notably the "500+" child benefit) and a highly mobilised conservative electorate. Four years of intense polarisation since 2015, including the disputes over judicial reform, turned the European vote into a high-stakes national contest rather than the usual low-turnout afterthought.
The European Coalition (Koalicja Europejska) was a broad anti-PiS alliance bringing together Civic Platform, the Polish People's Party (PSL), the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), Nowoczesna and the Greens. It won 38.47% and 22 seats. The aim was to consolidate the opposition vote into a single bloc capable of matching PiS.
The European Coalition dissolved before the October 2019 parliamentary election, when PSL, the left (as Spring/SLD) and the rest chose to run separately. That fragmentation split the opposition vote and helped PiS retain its outright Sejm majority, a lesson in the value of unity that shaped later opposition strategy.