Opposition Lawmakers Suggest "Senate Pact" Is Being Finalised

Senior centre-right PSL party lawmaker Piotr Zgorzelski told RMF FM radio that major opposition parties are close to finalising a list of joint candidates for the upcoming Senate elections and "perhaps 2-3 seats are still being discussed," while agreement has been reached over candidates who will contest Warsaw seats.

• Unlike in the case of the more important Sejm (lower house) election, the Senate is elected using the first-past-the-post method and single-seat constituencies. Opposition parties other than the far-right Confederation are trying to boost the odds of defeating the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) by agreeing on a list of joint candidates.
• Former Civil Platform (PO) leader Grzegorz Schetyna said that all seats will "certainly" be allocated at the beginning of next week, with party negotiators signalling that they are now working on some final details. Earlier press reports suggested that his party may take around 40 out of the 65 seats which the opposition expects to win.
• The negotiations took more time and effort than expected, with the process watched as a bellwether of the ability of opposition parties to cooperate smoothly - whether before or after the elections. At this point, it seems unlikely that the opposition will contest the Sejm election as a single list, which some touted as an optimal strategy.