Former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński’s Law and Justice party (PiS) retained the majority in the 400-member Sejm, taking 235 seats. However, it failed to retain the majority in the 100-member Senate, winning 48, down from 61 previously. The Civic Coalition (see note 1) took a total of 164 seats in the Sejm and 46 in the Senate. The newly elected Sejm re-elected Ms. Elżbieta Witek (PiS) as its Speaker, while the Senate elected Mr. Tomasz Grodzki – endorsed by the Civic Coalition and independent senators – as its new President. On 8 November, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS) announced a new government, which was officially appointed by President Andrzej Duda (independent, backed by the PiS) on 15 November.

During election campaigning, the PiS promised to expand its welfare programme and deepen reforms of the judiciary (see note 2). The Civic Coalition focused on health care and democracy. The major parties also focused on the issue of LGBT rights in the Catholic nation of 38 million people.

Note 1:
The Civic Coalition comprised the Civic Platform, Nowoczesna, Polish Initiative and the Green Party, amongst others. It endorsed Deputy Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska as its premiership candidate, instead of the Civic Platform leader Grzegorz Schetyna.

Note 2:
Critics said the ongoing reforms would erode the independence of the judiciary. On 10 October 2019, the European Commission decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the new disciplinary regime for Polish judges.