After election loss, far-right Polish politician decries women’s right to vote

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – Following his party’s poor showing in weekend elections, the leader of Poland’s far-right Confederation party said Tuesday that women should be barred from voting.

“Women should not have the right to vote,” Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who is known for misogynist comments, told tabloid Super Express in an interview.

Korwin-Mikke failed to get elected in Sunday’s election to the lower house of parliament (Sejm). His party failed to maintain its strong polling over the summer of around 14%, finishing with around half that, 7%, meaning a potential coalition with the current ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) failed to pass the required 50% mark.

In electoral district number 20 near Warsaw, the winner of the Confederation list was Karina Bosak, who started from second place after Korwin-Mikke. Bosak – the wife of Krzysztof Bosak, another Confederation leader – got 21,046 votes and Korwin-Mikke 9,836. As a result, he will not be elected an MP.

Korwin-Mikke told Super Express that this result proves his point. “This is proof that women shouldn’t have the right to vote. Take a look at the results in the United States: Trump would have won if only men had voted, and if (only) women had voted, he would not have won in any state,” he said.

In 2017, Korwin-Wikke said on the floor of the European Parliament that women are "smaller, weaker, less intelligent" and should be paid less.

Poland’s National Electoral Commission announced the results of the parliamentary elections after counting 99.92%. of votes. Law and Justice (PiS) won 35.41%, the Civic Coalition (KO) 30.67%, Third Way 14.41%, New Left 8.60% and Confederation 7.16%.

The KO, Third Way, and New Left have many common electoral planks, but also differences that may make it difficult for them to cooperate in government.

Andrzej Duda, the PiS-friendly president, could also make it difficult for them to govern. Duda will be head of state for two more years and will be able to veto laws. To override the president's veto, 276 out of 460 MPs are needed, but a cKO, the Third Way, and the New Left fall short of this by 28 votes.​​​​​​​