Number 1 for Polish People's Party (PSL), 2 for Law and Justice (PiS), 3 for Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), 4 for Confederation and 5 for Civic Coalition (KO) - the National Electoral Commission (PKW) drew election list numbers on Friday, assigned to nationwide committees that will put forward their candidates in all 41 constituencies.
In total, nine committees which registered their candidates for the Sejm in more than one constituency took part in the draw. First, the numbers were drawn for the five committees which had registered their lists in all 41 constituencies.
In the draw, the Polish People's Party (PSL) committee got number 1, Law and Justice (PiS) - 2, Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) - 3, Confederation Freedom and Independence - 4, Civic Coalition (Civic Platform, Modern Party, Polish Initiative, the Greens) - 5.
Next, the numbers were drawn for the committees which had registered candidates for the Sejm in lesser number of constituencies. As a result, the Prawica (the Right) committee drew number 6, the Action of Disappointed Retirees Pensioners - 7, Coalition of Non-Partisans and Civil Servants - 8, Piotr Liroy-Marzec's Effectives - 9.
Law and Justice's election plenipotentiary, Krzysztof Sobolewski, told journalists after the draw that he didn't attach much importance to it, but number 2 "is a good omen for the second term".
Journalists asked Sobolewski about PiS candidate running in Katowice, senator Leszek Piechota, who had printed out his poster with the list number and his place on it before the draw. He printed list number 2 on the poster - the same number the PKW drew later.
"It seems that someone has skills to predict the future. I'll gladly talk to the senator and ask him how did he know about the list number, we could use such foresight in the future," Sobolewski said.
Referring to the drawn numbers, Civic Coalition MP Mariusz Witczak said that five is a fantastic number which brings positive connotations. "Five is better than two," he added. Referring to school gradind system, he said Civic Coalition paid no attention to numbers because they would be comparing candidates for prime minister, programmes and campaign activity.
Julia Zimmermann (Razem Party, SLD committee) said that number three was perfect for Democratic Left Alliance. "A list uniting 3 generations of the left-wing, 3 main parties, now having list number 3 is exactly what we were looking for," she declared.
In the parliamentary election, Poland has been divided into 41 constituencies of various size. The smallest one being in Częstochowa where there are 7 MP seats available, whereas Warsaw is the biggest one with 20 seats to win.
In this year's parliamentary election, across the whole country a single-page voting cards will be issued. On the cards, the lists of candidates for MPs registered in a given constituency will be printed.
The election will take place on October 13. Poles will choose 460 MPs and 100 senators for a 4-year term.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP