Poles in Germany: Record number to vote in Polish election

"Of course we're going to vote. This might well be the most important election ever," says Elzbieta, who is shopping at the outdoor market in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Although she's lived in Germany for 40 years, she's still very interested in what goes on in her native Poland.

"I have friends and family in Poland," she says, "I want things to be good for them. And I just don't like what's going on there right now." Elzbieta feels that the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has been in power for eight years, is "driving the country into the ground."

Grazyna, who runs a mobile Polish delicatessen, nods in agreement: "Of course I'm going to vote," she says. "The country has to be saved."

She too has lived in Berlin for a long time but still wants to have a say in Poland's future and has been following the election campaign closely.

Expats concerned about vote count

Like many Polish expats, however, the two women are worried their votes in the parliamentary election on October 15 will not count.

According to Poland's electoral rules, all votes cast must be counted within 24 hours of the polls closing, otherwise all votes cast in that polling station will be deemed null and void.

An electoral reform adopted in early 2023 introduced a new method of counting that slows down the process: every member of the district electoral commission must view each ballot during the count. Although the idea was to increase transparency, this change will also hold up proceedings.

And that could prove a problem, especially for those electoral commissions with a very large number of votes to count. The situation will also be exacerbated by the referendum taking place on the same day. Votes cast in the referendum also have to be counted within 24 hours.

'Time is sure to be tight'

Ludwik Wasiak, chairman of a district electoral commission in Berlin, told DW that the electoral reform relating to the vote count could turn out to be an "own goal."

"We're worried about certain aspects," he said. "Time is sure to be tight, but we'll work hard to ensure everything is done by the book."

Wasiak is also chairman of the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe). On the last Sunday before the election, he was outside Berlin's Basilica of St. John the Baptist, seat of the Polish Catholic mission, handing out flyers and brochures for the candidates of the United Right alliance and the ultra-right Confederation party.

"Everyone seems to know that this is a very important election, perhaps one of the most important in our recent history."

He encouraged people to vote in the referendum too, but admitted that many were reluctant.

Contentious referendum

Pensioner and PiS supporter Janina intends to go straight from mass to the polling station on Sunday. When talking to DW, she made no secret of her dislike for Donald Tusk, leader of the opposition Civic Platform (PO).

"If he wins, Poland will be sold off. We've got to save the country," she says. She intends to vote in both the election and the referendum, where she says she is "going to vote 'no' four times."

Among other things, voters will be asked: "Do you support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa, in accordance with the forced relocation mechanism imposed by European bureaucracy?"

The other three questions are about the sale of national assets to foreign entities, raising the retirement age, and the removal of barriers on the Polish–Belarusian border.

'Germany is being spat on'

Voters who back the opposition are likely to boycott the referendum. Monika, a 53-year-old kindergarten teacher in Berlin, left Poland in 1992 but still has a close bond with the country.

She intends to vote in the parliamentary election, but won't be accepting ballot papers for the referendum in an attempt to reduce turnout. She considers the questions "tendentious."

"As someone who lives in Germany, it really angers me that Germany is being spat on in the Polish election campaign," she says. She feels that Germany should recognize Poland's right to war reparations, even if "it would have to be paid out of our taxes."

Nevertheless, she is appalled by the way the Polish government is asserting its claim and exerting pressure. "More diplomacy is needed, not spitting," she says.

Record number of voters registered

Poles living abroad had to register to vote in the election and referendum by October 10. Almost 109,000 Polish expats — a record number — registered in Germany alone. The 47 district electoral commissions across Germany expect long lines outside polling stations on Sunday.

In 2019, about 46,000 people cast their votes in 23 district electoral commissions.

Large Polish community in Germany

Maciej Kowalski, coordinator of the Polish citizens' election-monitoring initiative in Germany is delighted that the Polish community is so keen, but points out that this is just a small proportion of Poles living in Germany.

Various sources estimate that 1.5–2 million Poles live in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, there are about 881,000 Polish citizens in the country. It is estimated that there are over two million people "with a Polish migration background" in Germany, many of whom hold dual citizenship.

"When you compare these numbers with the number of registered voters, there is still huge potential for political activity," says Kowalski.

At present, votes cast by Polish voters abroad are counted as being cast in Warsaw. Kowalski feels that a separate constituency for expats with its own lawmakers and senators — as in France — could increase turnout among overseas voters.

"The Polish diaspora has its own interests in Poland. Many are considering moving back; what happens in Poland matters to them; they have businesses and property there."

Abortion law and the fear of 'Polexit'

Kasia works in a Polish supermarket in Essen. She hasn't yet decided who she'll vote for on Sunday, but is worried that Poland could leave the EU if PiS is reelected. "That would be it, then," she says. "But it's also about women's right to choose," she adds, referring to Poland's restrictive abortion laws.

For 21-year-old Dominika, the situation for women in Poland is the main issue. The country's abortion law prohibits pregnancy termination even if there are medical indications of irreversible damage to the fetus or an incurable disease that poses a threat to the life of the child. This is why Dominika, who has lived in Germany for five years, will be voting.

"This will be a very important election," she said. "It's about the future of our family in Poland and how they're going to live."

Polish expats have different priorities

Agnieszka Lada-Konefal of the German Poland Institute in Darmstadt says that Poles in Germany are interested in different issues than voters in Poland, where inflation and the health system are at the top of the agenda.

"For Poles abroad, the rule of law and membership of the European Union are key," she told DW, adding that issues surrounding Poland's relations with the EU may motivate Poles living abroad to vote.

In the last parliamentary election in 2019, Polish expats — including those in Germany — voted very differently to their compatriots back home.

In Poland, the ruling PiS got 43.6% of votes and the opposition PO 27.4%. Overseas, it was a very different story: PO was ahead with 38.95% of the vote, with PiS trailing on 24.85%.

Adapted from the German by Aingeal Flanagan