Polish Parliament elects Donald Tusk as new PM

WARSAW: Former European Council president Donald Tusk has been elected as the new Polish Prime Minister in a parliamentary vote following the outgoing government's failure to secure a vote of confidence.

On Monday night, Tusk -- who had previously served as the Prime Minister from 2007 to 2014 -- won 248 votes in favor of his candidacy for the position in the Sejm, the lower house of Parliament, reports Xinhua news agency.

He was supported by the country's three biggest opposition groupings: the Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the New Left.

A total of 201 MPs voted against him, but there were no abstentions.

The Sejm voted for Tusk just hours after former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki failed to win a vote of confidence.

Poland held its parliamentary elections on October 15, when the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won most of the votes, but fell short of a majority in the Sejm.

Morawiecki, the Prime Minister candidate from the socially conservative PiS party, was tasked on November 27 by President Andrzej Duda with forming a government.

However, his government was rejected by 266 votes to 190 on Monday afternoon, which put an end to eight years of rule by the PiS party.

Tusk is set to present his cabinet to the parliament before walking through a vote of confidence in the Sejm on Tuesday.

His swearing in ceremony is likely to take place on Wednesday.