Poland's opposition looks likely to return to power following Sunday's high-stakes election, ending eight years of nationalist rule, but it will face an uphill struggle to undo reforms that have sorely tested Warsaw's ties with the European Union.
Partial official results and exit polls suggest the incumbent Law and Justice (PiS) party will remain the biggest party but short of a parliamentary majority. A late exit poll by Ipsos published on Monday afternoon gave PiS 196 seats in the 460-member lower house of parliament, against 249 for the main opposition bloc led by the liberal Civic Coalition (KO).
Since sweeping to power in 2015, PiS has feuded with its EU partners over media freedoms and judicial reforms that critics say politicized the courts. A near total abortion ban also set Poland apart from most of Europe.