Warsaw, Oct 25 (IANS): Poland's ruling nationalist party on Thursday secured most of the regional seats in the rural areas but failed to take the main cities' town halls, according to the official poll results.

Law and Justice (PiS) overwhelmingly took the majority of seats in the rural areas and small towns, securing 254 seats in the regional assemblies, reports Efe news.

The electoral commission said Civic Platform and Modern (the main opposition liberal parties who form a coalition in most of the main Polish cities) took 194 seats, primarily in the large cities, including Warsaw, polarizing rural and urban communities.

In the third spot, the agrarian People's Party secured 70 regional seats and the Democratic Left Alliance took 11.

The vote held on Sunday had a turnout of 54.96 per cent, an increase on the previous local elections which saw 46.4 per cent of eligible voters casting their ballots.

The local and regional elections were held amidst tension between Poland and the European Union following controversial judicial reforms in Poland, which critics say jeopardize the independence of the country's courts.