Poles voted in local elections on Sunday, selecting councillors and mayors who will play a key role in allocating billions in European Union funds and providing an early indication of their satisfaction with the government of Donald Tusk.
Tusk's appointment as prime minister in December marked a turning point for the largest country in the EU's east, drawing a line under eight years of nationalist rule that set Warsaw at odds with Western allies and putting the nation of 38 million people on a resolutely pro-European course.
The broad coalition which Tusk leads won a majority in October's parliamentary elections on promises to roll back judicial reforms implemented by the previous government that critics said undermined the independence of the courts, while boosting the rights of women and minorities.
"Everybody who doesn't want to have their fate decided by somebody else should vote," Tusk told reporters after casting his ballot in his home town of Sopot on the Baltic coast.
Voter turnout at 1000 GMT was 16.5%, the country's electoral commission said.
Tusk has painted victory on Sunday for his liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the largest grouping in the ruling alliance, as essential if Poland is to avoid sliding back towards nationalist rule under the Law and Justice party (PiS).
For Michal Warszycki, a 37-year-old AI engineer going to vote in northern Warsaw, Sunday's election was important for its influence on spending.
"(The elections) will decide in what way public money is distributed, money from taxes... financing from the EU, how the person who will manage that, regardless of whether they are from the left or the right, will allocate it for the public good," he said.
'YELLOW CARD'
With the three groups that form the ruling coalition running on separate tickets, the vote is also a chance for Tusk to cement KO's dominance in government.
Elections to the European Parliament are scheduled for June, and Sunday's results will be closely watched in Brussels.
While Tusk has unblocked billions in EU funds that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns and launched sweeping changes in the courts and state media, he has also faced criticism for not delivering on a host of election promises and questions over the legality of some reforms, particularly regarding the media.
For PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the local elections offer a chance to send a warning shot to the government.
"We have a chance ... to show the authorities who are at the helm in Warsaw today a yellow card," he told supporters on Friday, in a reference to the way soccer referees warn players.
Polling stations will close at 1900 GMT at which point the results of an exit poll will be published.
A second round of voting in mayoral races will be held on April 21.
