2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Second contended nominations by Law and Justice
On 3 December, the Constitutional Court ruled that out of the five judges elected by PO, the election of the first three judges was valid, while the appointment of the other two breached the law. But President Duda refused to swear any into office. According to his spokesman, Duda refused to swear these three judges into office, because the number of Constitutional Court judges would then be unconstitutional.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Second contended nominations by Law and Justice
On 4 December, Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński, who had called the Constitutional Court "the bastion of everything in Poland that is bad" questioned the legitimacy of the Court's decision, because it was supposedly made by fewer judges than required by law. Kaczyński announced changes in the law regarding the Constitutional Court, but gave no details.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Second contended nominations by Law and Justice
On 11 January 2016, the Constitutional Court rejected a complaint by Civic Platform questioning the appointment of the five new judges by the new Parliament. Three of the Court's judges dissented, including Andrzej Rzepliński.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
Early in December, the Tribunal's President Andrzej Rzepliński, who had been nominated by PO, said the 5 judges nominated by PiS were given offices in the building, but would not rule until the issue was "cleared up". Because the Polish law set a participatory threshold of 9 judges, this meant that they were de facto excluded.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
The Constitution leaves the door open for the specific organization of the Tribunal: "The organization of the Constitutional Tribunal, as well as the mode of proceedings before it, shall be specified by statute." (Article 197)


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
On 22 December 2015, the Sejm passed a law which re-organized the Constitutional Tribunal:


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
The bill was approved by the Polish Senate on 24 December 2015 after an overnight session, and signed by President Duda on 28 December 2015.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
The Washington Post quoted an official saying that as a result, the decision-making capacity of the court has been "paralysed".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Events, Inclusion of the new judges
On 9 March 2016, the Constitutional Tribunal, sitting without the new judges, ruled the amendments non-compliant with the Polish constitution. The Polish government regards this verdict as non-binding, as it was not itself based on the rules introduced by the amendment, and refused to publish the verdict, a binding condition for its legal validity.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Domestic reaction
On 2 December, Jacek Kucharczyk, the director of the Institute of Public Affairs, Poland in Warsaw, was quoted as saying that the constitutional court "was the one branch of government that they (PiS) theoretically couldn't touch and which curbed its power 10 years ago".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Domestic reaction
On 12 December, protests organised by the Committee for the Defence of Democracy were joined by a crowd of supporters (estimated at 50,000 by the event organisers and 17,000-20,000 according to the official police report) in Warsaw. The next day, pro-government supporters rallied in the capital (estimated at 80,000 by the event organisers and 40,000-45,000 based on the official police report). The Supreme Court of Poland and the Polish Lawyers Association view the amendment as a breach of Article 190 and as unconstitutional.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Domestic reaction
Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland and leader of the Solidarity movement in the 1980s, stated that the current situation might lead to a civil war and that the way in which PiS was proceeding did not amount to an "open and democratic" reform process. Wałęsa called for a referendum on the latest changes of law. "This government acts against Poland, against our achievements, freedom, democracy, not to mention the fact that it ridicules us in the world...I'm ashamed to travel abroad."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Domestic reaction
On 5 January 2016, Leszek Miller, a former Prime Minister of Poland criticised Western, especially German, media, and other critics of PiS, saying that they were "hysterical" and that there was nothing to indicate a "coup", as PiS was simply regaining power from the Civic Platform. Miller accused the chief judge of the Constitutional Court Andrzej Rzepliński of acting like a "politician of Civic Platform".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, Domestic reaction
In an open letter published on 25 April 2016, the former Presidents of Poland, Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwasniewski and Bronislaw Komorowski, called on the Polish public to defend democracy, and warned that "Law and Justice plans to continue their actions, which destroy the constitutional order, paralyze the proceedings of the Constitutional Tribunal and the entire judicial system." The same week Poland's Supreme Court announced that it regards the verdicts of the Constitutional Tribunal as binding even though these decisions were not published by the Government, as "technically" required by the Polish Constitution. In response PiS spokeswoman Beata Mazurek called the Supreme Court's statement the result of "a meeting of a team of cronies who are defending the status quo of the previous governing camp."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
On 15 December 2015, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, described the political situation in Poland as dramatic, with the latest actions of the Polish government having "characteristics of a coup". Schulz explicitly refused to withdraw this appraisal after protests by the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski. On 10 January 2016, Schulz was quoted as describing the situation in Poland as a "Putinisation" of European politics; and he was backed by Viviane Reding, who complained about attacks on the public and private media in line with "the Putin-Orbán-Kaczynski-Logic".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
The European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans wrote in a letter to Poland's ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs before Christmas, that the EU's executive body "attaches great importance to preventing the emergence of situations whereby the rule of law in (a) member state could be called into question", and that he "would expect that this law is not finally adopted or at least not put into force until all questions regarding the impact of this law on the independence and the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal have been fully and properly assessed."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, called on Polish politicians "not to enact, precipitously, legislation relating to the Constitutional Tribunal which may seriously undermine the rule of law."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
On 13 January 2016, the European Commission launched a formal rule-of-law assessment to determine a serious threat of a breach of Union law based on rules set out in 2014 and the provisions of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, regarding the amendments of the constitutional court and the public media law in Poland. A recommendation, the second step in the rule-of-law assessment, was issued on 1 June 2016.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
Iverna McGowan, director of Amnesty International's European Institutes office in Brussels, commented: "The willingness of the commission to use the rule-of-law framework is a positive step towards a more serious approach by the EU to speak out and hold its own member states to account on their human rights records." Hungary declared that it will oppose any sanctions against Poland.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
On 11 March 2016 the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, who had been asked for an opinion by the Polish government in December 2015, assessed the amendments as crippling the Court's effectiveness and undermining democracy, human rights and the rule of law. On 13 April 2016 the European Parliament, by 513 votes to 142 and with 30 abstentions, passed a resolution declaring that the Parliament "is seriously concerned that the effective paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland endangers democracy, human rights and the rule of law".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
In September 2017, the European Commission launched the second stage of infringement over the state of rule of law in Poland.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
On 20 December 2017, the Commission made a fourth recommendation and referred Poland to the European Court of Justice for "breach of EU law", stating,


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Brussels
Over a period of two years, the Polish authorities have adopted more than 13 laws affecting the entire structure of the justice system in Poland, impacting the Constitutional Tribunal, Supreme Court, ordinary courts, National Council for the Judiciary, prosecution service and National School of Judiciary. The common pattern is that the executive and legislative branches have been systematically enabled to politically interfere in the composition, powers, administration and functioning of the judicial branch.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Eastern Europe
On 8 January 2016, Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, declared that Hungary would never agree to any sanctions against Poland, and would veto any proposals to do so in EU. Orbán declared, "The European Union should not think about applying any sort of sanctions against Poland because that would require full unanimity and Hungary will never support any sort of sanctions against Poland". Under current EU law, to sanction any member state, all other member states must give their supporting vote in the European Council. On the same day Tibor Navracsics, the Hungarian EU commissioner, confirmed that Hungary would block any attempts to put Poland under any EU supervision or sanctions, denying claims by the German press that Hungary would allow sanctions to take place.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Eastern Europe
On 19 January 2016, Petr Mach, Member of the European Parliament for Czech Republic, put on a badge saying "I am a Pole" to show his support for law reforms in Poland. He expressed his disappointment with actions taken against Poland and accused the European Commission of hiding its real motivation: "We are faced with a scandalous situation in which the European Union has initiated proceedings against Poland to strip it of its voting rights. Yet, what is the terrible thing that Poland has done? That it has established a two-thirds majority for Constitutional Court decisions? (...)


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Eastern Europe
This is, of course, ridiculous and an excuse. What is it really that bothers the European Commission? The European Commission is upset about the fact that the winning party in the Polish election doesn't like the EU in the current form. It doesn't want to accept the dictate of migrant quotas. I think that is what this is about. This is scandalous interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country. In 1963, John F. Kennedy declared in a Berlin under siege: "Ich bin ein Berliner!". I think that now we need to stand behind Poland. And as a proud free citizen let me say: Jestem Polakiem [I am a Pole]!"


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Eastern Europe
On 9 March 2018, after Poland's referral to the ECJ, leaders of the Baltic states expressed their support for law reform in Poland. Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis expressed understanding for law changes in Poland: "we understand Poland, we understand its goals related to the reform of the justice system (...) if there were any restrictive measures imposed on Poland, Lithuania would support Poland". The Prime Minister of Latvia Māris Kučinskis said: "We would be against any punishments imposed on Poland; in this regard, all three Baltic countries think similarly". Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said that "Any problems related to voting and taking away the right to vote – I do not think that it should happen at all, it would be a step too far".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Eastern Europe
On 13 September 2018, Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Linas Antanas Linkevičius has re-confirmed Lithuania's stand: "We will oppose the sanctions against Poland. This dialogue is very complicated but we believe that the result will be positive. Our neighbours also want to improve relations with the European Union in the context of the rule of law. Ultimatums and strong reactions will not help to solve this issue".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Western Europe
On 9 January, Volker Kauder and Herbert Reul, both leading members of the large German CDU party, called for economic sanctions on Poland. Two days later, the press spokesman for the German government, Steffen Seibert, denied that this was the position of the German government and stated that sanctions were not in fact being considered. German European MP Hans-Olaf Henkel from the fringe conservative Alliance for Progress and Renewal party criticized German interference in Polish internal affairs.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Western Europe
On 10 January, the Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador, asking him to explain "anti-Polish statements by German politicians".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Washington
On 15 January Standard & Poor's downgraded Poland's rating from A- to BBB+ because, according to a S&P spokesman, "the downgrade reflects our view that Poland's system of institutional checks and balances has been eroded significantly. Poland's new government has initiated various legislative measures that we consider weaken the independence and effectiveness of key institutions, as reflected in our institutional assessment." Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Poland's A- rating, stating that Poland's outlook was stable with "strong macro performance, resilient banking system and governance indicators".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Washington
In a letter addressed to Beata Szydło, US Senators John McCain, Ben Cardin and Richard J. Durbin protested against the amendments which would "threaten the independence of state media and the country's highest court and undermine Poland's role as a democratic model for other countries in the region still going through difficult transitions" and could "serve to diminish democratic norms, including the rule of law and independence of the judiciary".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, MEPs
On 13 September 2017, Nigel Farage, British populist nationalist politician, openly attacked the European Commission in the EU parliament by saying: "Indeed, the way you are treating Poland and Hungary already must remind them of living under the Soviet Communists with your attempts to tell them how they should run their own countries. All I can say is: Thank God we are leaving! You've learned nothing from Brexit."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, MEPs
On 28 February 2018,  British politician Nigel Farage weighed in again on the issue: "I am always hearing about human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and yet in 2011, when journalists in Poland were being apprehended, held and sacked for being critical of the Government, what did the Commission do? Nothing. Why? Well, of course, because Mr Tusk, as the then Prime Minister, was pro the European Union.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, MEPs
(...) here you are, Mr Timmermans – just because they tried to clear out the Communist old guard and modernise their system – on the verge of invoking Article 7 and taking away their democratic rights within the Union." Furthermore, Farage called the case of Catalonia: "And you are happy to interfere, Mr Timmermans, in every single Member State where you think you see an infringement, apart from – I had nearly forgotten – in the case of Catalonia.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, MEPs
Nine hundred and fifty people get beaten up by the police because they want to turn out on a Sunday morning and express an opinion – a totally clear violation, Mr Timmermans, of people's human rights, an absolute abuse of any sense of a democratic process – yet you say, in that case, that it is none of our business. But, of course, they are a pro-EU Government, so the iron fist of the European Union is reserved purely for your critics." He finished with comparison to the Brezhnev Doctrine: "This, for Poland, is the modern-day Brezhnev doctrine of limited sovereignty. You rebelled against that system, Polish people, and I hope you go on and rebel against this one."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
Prime Minister Beata Szydło vowed not to bow to German pressure, saying "these attacks are intended to weaken us, trying to show us that we should agree to everything just like our predecessors did". While German-Polish relations are important, Szydlo pointed out that they must be based on "partnership, not dominance, which our neighbour sometimes tries to exert".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
Bishop Wieslaw Mering called Schulz's comments a "lost chance to stay quiet" (referring to infamous speech by French President Jacques Chirac telling Poland it "lost the chance to stay quiet" when expressing support for war against Iraq in 2003), "I know my country more than you do, I have lived in my homeland for 70 years, I can assure you that elections of the president and new government, are not evidence of a lack of democracy. Elections showed that our common citizens want change." Mering stated that the problem is in the fact that those who lost power are dissatisfied with the election result and are trying to use the European Parliament in their own interests.


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
In response to German calls for sanctions on Poland, Law and Justice MP Stanislaw Pieta responded, "The people who elected Hitler of their own free will, those who bowed before Stalin (...) want to instruct us", "who today cannot provide safety to their own people", "cannot deal with Islamic terrorism", "They want to give us lessons? Let them not be ridiculous".


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
On 9 January 2016, Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro reacted to the proposal by German politician Günther Oettinger to sanction Poland in a letter criticising Oettinger for interfering in Polish internal affairs, while at the same time tolerating censorship over mass sexual attacks in Germany committed on New Year's Eve. In his reply to Frans Timmermans, Ziobro asked Timmermans "to exercise more restraint in instructing and cautioning the parliament and government of a sovereign and democratic state in the future, despite ideological differences that may exist between us, with you being of a left-wing persuasion."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
Pawel Kukiz, the leader of the opposition party Kukiz'15, the third largest party in Poland, stated in reaction to Martin Schulz, "You should pay more attention to democracy in your own country. Because if—God forbid—another Hitler were to appear in your country and lead with him those several million "immigrants" that you are planning, then I suspect the SS will look like the Salvation Army in comparison. I apologise for such a brutal statement, but the Nazis murdered my grandfather in Auschwitz, and I don't want their grandchildren to teach me lessons about democracy."


2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis, International reactions, Domestic response to German and EU criticism
A special meeting of all Polish parties represented in the Parliament was arranged by Prime Minister Szydlo on 12 January. The parliamentary leader of the Law and Justice Party, Ryszard Terlecki, declared that the meeting would be dedicated to statements by German politicians that have caused outrage among the Polish public, and that he hopes that all other parties will share that sentiment.


2015 Polish Super Cup
The 2015 Polish SuperCup was held on 10 July 2015 between the 2014–15 Ekstraklasa winners Lech Poznań and the 2014–15 Polish Cup winners Legia Warsaw. Lech won the match 3–1  and won the trophy for the fifth time.


2015 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections to both the Sejm and Senate were held in Poland on 25 October 2015 for the eighth term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, which ran from 12 November 2015 until 2019.


2015 Polish parliamentary election
The election was won by the largest opposition party, the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), with 37.6% of the vote against the governing Civic Platform (PO), which achieved 24.1%. Official results, announced on 27 October, gave Law and Justice 235 of 460 seats (51 percent), a majority of four. PiS vice chairwoman Beata Szydło succeeded PO leader Ewa Kopacz as Prime Minister of Poland, heading a one-party cabinet.


2015 Polish parliamentary election
It was the first election for a national parliament in Europe since the 1993 Norwegian elections in which the two largest parties were led by a female candidate, and the second election in history (also since the 1993 Norwegian election) where more than three parties fielded female leadership candidates. It was also the first election in Poland since the restoration of full democracy that a party won an absolute majority in the Sejm.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Electoral system
The process of election for the Sejm is through open party-list proportional representation via the D'hondt method in multi-seat constituencies, with a 5% national threshold for single parties and 8% threshold for coalitions (requirements waived for ethnic minorities). The senate is elected using first-past-the-post voting in single-member districts. To be included on a ballot, a senate candidate must present 2,000 signatures of support from their constituents. For Sejm elections, the threshold is 5,000 signatures per constituency, though that requirement is waived for parties that have already registered lists in at least half of all constituencies (21 out of 41 as of this election).


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Electoral system
Overall, the Sejm includes 460 MPs. Should a party have 231 or more deputies in Parliament, it has an absolute majority and can thus govern autonomously, without the need for support from other parties. The constitution can be amended with a supermajority of two-thirds, or 307 deputies.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Election date
The date of the election, 25 October, was set by the previous President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. The latest possible date for the election to be held was in November 2015, four years after the previous election. Prior to the announcement of the election date, the most likely dates were thought to be in October or November.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Election date
In the previous parliamentary elections in 2011 the Civic Platform–Polish People's Party coalition government, in power since 2007, won a second term. All 460 seats in the Sejm and 100 seats in the Senate were up for election.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Results
The opposition party, Law and Justice won the election with 37.58% of the vote against the governing Civic Platform, which gained a 24.09% share. Beata Szydło became the new Prime Minister, succeeding Ewa Kopacz. Law and Justice became the first party in Poland to win majority government in a free election, since 1991. The other parties considered winners were two newcomer parties, Kukiz's Movement (third place) and Ryszard Petru's Modern party (4th place).


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Results
Two of the biggest losers were Civic Platform and the Polish People's Party. PO suffered its worst result in a parliamentary election in ten years, ending eight years of political dominance. The PSL, the junior partner in the outgoing government, had its worst result in 25 years (5.13%), just crossing the 5% threshold by a few thousand votes. Another perceived loser was the Democratic Left Alliance, Poland's largest left-wing party, which failed to win a seat for the first time since the change of system. The SLD ran as the largest partner of the United Left, which was 0.5% short of the 8% threshold for electoral alliances to win seats.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Reactions
Political analysts noted that the election marked the first time in the post-communist era that a political party received enough votes to form a majority government. BBC News suggested that Law and Justice's strategy of putting forward Szydło as its candidate for prime minister was a "winning formula" in the election. Szydło was widely perceived as being more moderate than PiS' outspoken leader, Jarosław Kaczyński. However, it also noted that Kaczyński could step into the role of prime minister after the election.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Reactions
According to the Associated Press, the new Sejm was the most right-wing parliament in Europe due to the absence of centre-left MPs in the chamber. All five parties in the Sejm tilted rightward on social issues. Between them, left-leaning alliances only gained 11 percent of the vote.


2015 Polish parliamentary election, Reactions
Kopacz swiftly conceded defeat after exit polls from TVP showed PiS on its way to a majority, while Kaczyński declared victory and hailed his party's historic majority. Kaczyński also paid tribute to his late brother, President Lech Kaczyński, who died in the 2010 plane crash.


2015 Polish presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 10 and 24 May 2015. In the first round of voting Law and Justice (PiS) candidate, lawyer and Member of the European Parliament, Andrzej Duda received the greatest number of votes with a share of 34.76%, followed by incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski (with 33.77%), who ran as an independent with the endorsement of the Civic Platform (PO), which he had renounced his membership in after winning the 2010 elections. Independent candidate Paweł Kukiz came third with 20.80% of the votes. As no candidate had received more than 50% of the votes cast, a second round was held on 24 May between the two highest-placed candidates, Duda and Komorowski. This round was won by Duda with 51.5% of the votes, to Komorowski's 48.5%.


2015 Polish presidential election, Electoral system
The president was elected directly by the people to serve for five years, and can be re-elected only once. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the president had to be elected by an absolute majority of valid votes; if no candidate succeeds in passing this threshold, a second round of voting is held with the two candidates who received the largest and second largest number of votes respectively.


2015 Polish presidential election, Electoral system
In order to be registered to contest the elections, candidates had to be a Polish citizen, at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election, and have collected at least 100,000 voters' signatures.


2015 Polish presidential election, Electoral system
According to the article 28, the day of the election had to fall on a Sunday between 100 and 75 days before the end of the term of the incumbent. As the term of Bronisław Komorowski would officially end on 6 August 2015, the first round had to occur between 27 April and 22 May, so that the possible dates were theoretically either 3, 10, or 17 May, though in practice only the latter two were realistic possibilities as the first fell on Constitution Day, a national holiday.


2015 Polish presidential election, Electoral system
This was the first presidential election carried out following changes in 2011.


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
In total 23 candidates registered with the State Electoral Commission. Only 11 submitted the required 100,000 signatures supporting their candidacy before the 26 March deadline. :


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Member of European Parliament Andrzej Duda (Law and Justice), age 42


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Marszałek of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Adam Jarubas (Polish People's Party), age 40


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Incumbent President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski (Independent with Civic Platform endorsement), age 62


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Member of the Lower Silesian Regional Assembly Paweł Kukiz (Independent), age 51


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Historian Magdalena Ogórek (Independent with Democratic Left Alliance endorsement), age 36


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates
Barrister Jacek Wilk (Congress of the New Right), age 40


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates, Rejected candidates
The registered candidates who failed to submit 100,000 signatures supporting their run for office were:


2015 Polish presidential election, Candidates, Rejected candidates
Among those who publicly announced their candidacy, but failed to register, were:


2015 Polish presidential election, Campaign, Television debates
One debate took place before the first round, on 5 May, chaired by Krzysztof Ziemiec and aired on TVP 1. Ten candidates attended the debate, while President Komorowski declined to appear.


2015 Polish presidential election, Campaign, Television debates
Two debates took place before the second round, the first chaired by Dorota Gawryluk and by Krzysztof Ziemiec on 17 May, and the second on 21 May by TVN, chaired by Monika Olejnik, Bogdan Rymanowski and Justyna Pochanke. In both of these, the candidates also had the opportunity to pose questions to the other. Komorowski was generally regarded by the Polish press and political analysts to have won the first of the second-round debates. The second debate was considered to be less decisive.


2015 Polish presidential election, Opinion polls
Nearly all opinion polls taken before the first round of the election predicted President Komorowski would receive the largest vote share in the first round, with some polls taken in late 2014 and early 2015 suggesting he was on track for an outright win that would avoid a runoff election.


2015 Polish presidential election, Opinion polls
Polls were closer in the second round, with most predicting a narrow Duda victory. At least one late poll showed Komorowski pulling ahead, but just slightly.


2015 Polish presidential election, Results
Duda took a narrow first-place finish over Komorowski in the first round of the election on 10 May 2015, forcing the incumbent into a runoff. The result was described as a surprise, as the Komorowski camp and many political observers expected him to perform better or perhaps win outright. Paweł Kukiz, who finished third in the first round of voting, declined to endorse either Duda or Komorowski, instead offering to moderate a debate between the two candidates. Komorowski declined to participate, and the debate was never held.


2015 Polish presidential election, Results
In the second round of the election on 24 May, Duda unseated Komorowski in what was until 2020 the closest presidential election since Poland became a democracy. He defeated the incumbent by a margin of approximately three percentage points, according to official results.


2015 Polish presidential election, Reactions
Komorowski said after the release of the exit poll that it was important to respect the result of the vote. He conceded defeat that evening and wished Duda "a successful presidency".


2015 Polish presidential election, Reactions
Duda hailed his victory as a vote for change. His campaign manager said the election showed that the Law and Justice bloc could win parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn, something that the party achieved.


2015 Polish presidential election, Reactions
Many world leaders, including United States President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulated Duda on his victory.


2015 Polish referendum
A three-part referendum was held in Poland on 6 September 2015. Voters were asked whether they approved of introducing single-member constituencies for Sejm elections, maintaining state financing of political parties and introducing a presumption in favour of the taxpayer in disputes over the tax law.


2015 Polish referendum
The voter turnout of 7.80 percent was well below the 50-percent threshold required for the referendum results to be legally binding.


2015 Polish referendum, Background
The referendums were ordered by President Bronisław Komorowski, who had promised to hold a referendum on the electoral system after the first round of the presidential elections, Although he had been leading in the polls, Komorowski received fewer votes (33.77%) than his main opponent Andrzej Duda (34.76%) in the first round. However third-placed candidate Paweł Kukiz received 20.8% of the vote, campaigning on introducing single-member constituencies for Sejm elections. A day after the May elections, Komorowski made an instantaneous decision to hold the referendum. Justifying his initiative, he explained that he saw high support for Kukiz as a signal that voters wanted changes.


2015 Polwarth state by-election
A by-election for the seat of Polwarth in the Victorian Legislative Assembly was held on 31 October 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Terry Mulder on 3 September 2015. Former Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine, resigned his seat representing the adjacent district of South-West Coast on the same day as Mulder. The by-election for South-West Coast was held on the same day.


2015 Polwarth state by-election, Candidates
The Labor government did not contest the by-elections in the safe Liberal seats of Polwarth and South-West Coast.


2015 Polwarth state by-election, How-to-vote cards
Candidate volunteers attempt to distribute how-to-vote cards to voters at polling booths which show the candidate's suggested preference allocation. Candidates and parties which suggested preferences are shown in each column of the table below. The Australian Sex Party ran an open card at this by-election.


2015 Polwarth state by-election, Result
The VEC distributed preliminary preferences until a candidate exceeded 50 per cent of the vote, in this case Liberal candidate Richard Riordan.


2015 Poole Borough Council election
The 2015 Poole Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Poole Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections and the Parliamentary General Election.


2015 Poole Borough Council election, Election results by ward, Alderney
Councillor Russell Trent was elected as a Conservative but subsequently resigned from the party and is now an Independent.


2015 Poole Borough Council election, Election results by ward, Newtown
Councillor Graham Wilson represented Newtown for the Liberal Democrats before crossing the floor to join the Conservatives. Councillor Lindsay Wilson had represented Alderney for the Liberal Democrats until joining the Conservatives.


2015 Poole Borough Council election, By-elections 2015-2019, Broadstone By-Election 13 October 2016
The election was called after Joanne Tomlin resigned as a Councillor due to personal issues.


2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour
The 2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 1st edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Poprad, Slovakia between 15 and 22 June 2015.


2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour – Doubles
Roman Jebavý and Jan Šátral won the tournament, defeating Norbert Gombos and Adam Pavlásek in the final, 6–2, 6–2.


2015 Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour – Singles
Adam Pavlásek won the tournament, defeating Hans Podlipnik Castillo in the final, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
The 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland season was the 30th German Porsche Carrera Cup season. It began on 3 May at Hockenheim and finished on 18 October at the same circuit, after eighteen races, with two races at each event. It was a support championship for the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Championship standings, A-class
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Championship standings, B-class
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain was a multi-event, one-make motor racing championship held across England, Belgium and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, competing in Porsche 911 GT3 cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. It formed part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The 2015 season was the thirteenth Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain season, commencing on 4 April at Brands Hatch – on the circuit's Indy configuration – and finished on 11 October at the same venue, utilising the Grand Prix circuit, after sixteen races at eight meetings. Fourteen of the races were held in support of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season, with a round in support of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
With eleven victories and five second-place finishes from the sixteen races, Redline Racing driver Dan Cammish was the winner of the overall drivers' championship. Cammish, who at one point won 6 consecutive races, finished nearly 100 points clear of his next closest rival, team-mate Michael Meadows who was running under the Samsung SUHD TV Racing banner. Meadows took ten podium finishes, but only one victory, coming at Oulton Park. The championship top three was completed by defending champion Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing), who like Meadows, took one victory during the season, at Spa-Francorchamps.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain
The only other drivers to win races were IDL Racing's Tom Sharp at Brands Hatch and GT Marques driver Dino Zamparelli, who swept the Silverstone weekend. In the Pro-Am classes, despite taking fewer class wins than Jordan Witt (Redline Racing), Juta Racing driver Ignas Gelžinis won the Pro-Am 1 title by five points. While in Pro- Am 2, six class wins were enough for John McCullagh to complete a championship sweep for Redline Racing.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, Race calendar and results
The calendar was announced by the championship organisers on 5 November 2014. The championship was reduced from 19 rounds in 2014 to 16 rounds, including two races at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It was the only round outside the United Kingdom; all other rounds were held in support of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia
The 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia season was the ninth Porsche Carrera Cup Italy season. It began on 30 May at Monza and finished on 18 October in Mugello, after seven events with two races at each event, except for the Spa-Francorchamps round. Riccardo Agostini won the drivers' championship driving for Antonelli Motorsport - Centro Porsche Padova, and Tsunami Racing Team won the teams' championship


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, Championship standings, Drivers' Championship
† - Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, Championship standings, Teams' Championship
† - Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, Championship standings, Michelin Cup
The Michelin Cup is the trophy reserved to the gentlemen drivers.


2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, Championship standings, Porsche Carrera Cup Italia Scholarship Programme
The Scholarship Programme Cup is the trophy reserved to the under-26 drivers elected by Porsche at the beginning of the season.


2015 Porsche Supercup
The 2015 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season was the 23rd Porsche Supercup season. It began on 11 May at Circuit de Catalunya and finished on 2 November at Circuit of the Americas, after eleven scheduled races, all of which were support events for the 2015 Formula One season.


2015 Porsche Supercup, Teams and drivers
Full list of drivers that participated in the 2015 season:


2015 Porsche Supercup, Race calendar and results
Full list of races that will be held during the 2015 season:


2015 Porsche Supercup, Championship standings, Drivers' Championship
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 75% of the race distance.


2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 38th edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and part of the Premier tournaments of the 2015 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from 20 April through 26 April 2015. Unseeded Angelique Kerber won the singles title.


2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Doubles
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci were the defending champions, but chose not to participate this year. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Šafářová won the title, defeating Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik in the final, 6–4, 6–3.


2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the three-time defending champion, but lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber.


2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Singles
Kerber went on to win the title, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final, 3–6, 6–1, 7–5.


2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2015 Port Adelaide Football Club season
The 2015 Port Adelaide Football Club season was the club's 136th year in a senior football competition and its 19th season in the AFL.


2015 Port F.C. season
The 2015 season is Port MTI 's 19th season in the Thai Premier League of Port F.C. Football Club.


2015 Port F.C. season, Transfers
First Thai footballer's market is opening on 6 November 2014 to 28 January 2015


2015 Port F.C. season, Transfers
Second Thai footballer's market is opening on 3 June 2015 to 30 June 2015


2015 Port Vila Shield
The 2015 Port Vila Shield  was the 3rd edition of the Port Vila Shield, which placed the teams from the 2014–15 TVL Premier League against each other in a cup format. This cup acts a sort of warm-up for the second part of the league in the following months. The competition was held at the Port Vila Municipal Stadium.


2015 Port-Vila by-election
A by-election to the Parliament of Vanuatu was held in the constituency of Port-Vila (the capital city) on 15 October 2015. It followed the death of sitting MP (former Prime Minister, and incumbent Leader of the Opposition) Edward Natapei, of the centre-left Vanua'aku Pati. Natapei died after a long illness in July. Although Port-Vila is a multi-member constituency, only one seat was vacant, and therefore only one new member was elected.


2015 Port-Vila by-election, Candidates
The parliamentary Opposition parties (Vanua'aku Pati, National United Party, Melanesian Progressive Party, Land and Justice Party, Nagriamel, and Reunification Movement for Change) agreed to endorse a single candidate: Natapei's eldest son, Kenneth Natapei, also of the Vanua'aku Pati. On the government side, the Union of Moderate Parties (centre-right) also initially endorsed Kenneth Natapei, before putting forward its own candidate. Ultimately, five other candidates took part in the election alongside Natapei : Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau (independent), Nadia Kanegai (People's Progressive Party), Allan Carlot (Natatok), Georgie Calo (Union of Moderate Parties) and Jocelyn Mete (independent).


2015 Port-Vila by-election, Result
With a low turnout (approx. 27.6%), Kenneth Natapei was declared the winner by a clear margin. Following the unseating of fourteen members of Parliament upon conviction for bribery, however, President Baldwin Lonsdale dissolved Parliament on 24 November, and called a snap general election. Natapei had not yet been sworn in. He held his seat in the ensuing general election, which also saw by-election candidate Ishmael Kalsakau feature among Port-Vila's six elected representatives.


2015 Portland State Vikings football team
The 2015 Portland State Vikings football team represented Portland State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by head coach Bruce Barnum and played their home games at Providence Park, with one home game at Hillsboro Stadium. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 6–2 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to Northern Iowa.


2015 Portland State Vikings football team
On October 10, 2015, the Vikings beat North Texas, 66–7. The 59 point margin was the largest margin of victory by an FCS team over an FBS team since the split of NCAA Division I football in 1978 into the groupings now known as FBS and FCS. Portland State also became the first FCS team to defeat two FBS teams in the same season since North Dakota State in 2007.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
The 2015 season is the Portland Thorns FC's third season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
After a disappointing end to the 2014 season that saw the team knocked out of the 2014 NWSL Championship Playoffs by eventual league champions FC Kansas City, head coach Paul Riley sought to make changes that would bolster the team's roster to account for the players who would be called up to their respective national teams during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. After stellar performances in 2014, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and midfielder Verónica Boquete were both named to the ten player shortlist of the 2014 FIFA World Player of the Year and Boquete was named to the NWSL Best XI as well as being named 2014 Supporters' Player of the Year.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
The team made a number of signings before the 2015 season including Genoveva Añonma who captains the Equatorial Guinea women's national football team, a 2015 NWSL College Draft day trade of the Thorns' 2014 season leading scorer Jessica McDonald for Jodie Taylor of the England women's national football team and leading scorer of the Washington Spirit, and defender Kat Williamson, former Thorns player who had been traded away during the 2014 season.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
Several players were loaned out in the offseason including defender Rachel Van Hollebeke to Iga Football Club Kunoichi of the Japanese Nadeshiko League, and goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and defender Stephanie Catley to the Melbourne Victory of the W-League.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
Midfielder Verónica Boquete chose to sign with 1. FFC Frankfurt rather than remain with the Thorns for the 2015 season, and three players retired in the offseason, including defender Nikki Marshall, midfielder Sarah Huffman, and midfielder Angie Kerr.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
On April 6, 2015, the Thorns unveiled their 2015 kits that were the first custom designs by Nike in the league.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
Due to the national team player callups for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the league announced that they would be taking a two-week break and shortening the season from 24 to 20 games.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season
The Thorns finished the 2015 season with 23 points from 20 games and did not reach the playoffs, the first (and as of 2020, the only) season in which they did not reach the playoffs.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Club, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Match results, Regular season, Standings
Last updated: September 5, 2015Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  T = Matches tied;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Squad statistics
Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF – Midfielder, DF – Defender, GK – Goalkeeper


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Player Transactions, National Team Player Allocation
On January 14, 2015, the league held its NWSL Player Allocation with Portland receiving six players: returning United States women's national soccer team players Alex Morgan, Rachel Van Hollebeke, and Tobin Heath, returning Canada women's national soccer team player Christine Sinclair, and new Canadian internationals Kaylyn Kyle, and Rhian Wilkinson.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Player Transactions, National Women's Soccer League College Draft
The Thorns did not have a pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft, but through a series of draft day trades they acquired forward and England women's national football team player Jodie Taylor from the Washington Spirit.


2015 Portland Thorns FC season, Player Transactions, National team participation
Several Thorns players have been selected to play for their national teams in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.


2015 Portland Thunder season
The 2015 Portland Thunder season was the second season for the arena football franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was coached by Mike Hohensee and played their home games at the Moda Center. The Thunder finished third in the Pacific division and 5–13 for the second straight year, and were also one of two teams to go winless on the road.


2015 Portland Thunder season
Despite not qualifying for the playoffs with their win-loss record, because the league elected to cease operations of the Las Vegas Outlaws, who had finished ahead of Portland for the final playoff berth in the National Conference, Portland was awarded a playoff berth in their place. They were defeated in the conference semifinals by the San Jose SaberCats, 55–28.


2015 Portland Thunder season, Schedule, Regular season
The 2015 regular season schedule was released on December 19, 2014.


2015 Portland Thunder season, Final roster
Rookies in italics updated August 12, 201524 Active, 18 Inactive


2015 Portland Timbers 2 season
The 2015 Portland Timbers 2 season is the inaugural season for the Portland Timbers 2 in United Soccer League (USL), the third-division professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The Timbers 2 are the reserve team of the MLS side, Portland Timbers.


2015 Portland Timbers 2 season, Squad, Roster
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of March 26, 2015.


2015 Portland Timbers season
The 2015 Portland Timbers season was the 5th season for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada this season resulted in the Timbers winning the 2015 MLS Cup.


2015 Portland Timbers season, Competitions, Cascadia Cup
The Cascadia Cup is a trophy that was created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. It is awarded to the club with the best record in league games versus the other participants.


2015 Portland Timbers season, Squad, Roster and Statistics
All players contracted to the club during the season included.


2015 Portland, Maine mayoral election
The 2015 Portland, Maine mayoral election was an election for Mayor of Portland, Maine scheduled for November 3, 2015. It was the second election since Portland voters approved a citywide referendum changing the city charter to recreate an elected mayor position in 2010.


2015 Portland, Maine mayoral election
The new citizen-elected mayor serves full-time in the position for a four-year term, exercises the powers and duties enumerated in Article II Section 5 of the Portland City Charter, be elected using instant-runoff voting, and, like the rest of municipal government in Portland, be officially non-partisan. Ethan Strimling defeated incumbent mayor Michael F. Brennan and fellow challenger Tom MacMillan.


2015 Portland, Maine mayoral election, Campaign
The day after Ethan Strimling announced his candidacy for mayor, a group of city councilors and school board members led by Nicholas Mavodones announced their opposition to the reelection of Mayor Brennan and support of Strimling. Mavodones cited division within the city and city government as well as an atmosphere of frustration under Brennan's leadership.


2015 Portsmouth City Council election
The 2015 Portsmouth City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Portsmouth City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Portsmouth City Council election
Following the elections, the Conservatives remained in control of the council, continuing to govern in a minority administration


2015 Portsmouth City Council election, Election Results, Change in composition
After the 2015 local election, the  political make up of the council was as follows: These seats were then next contested in 2019.


2015 Portsmouth City Council election, Results by Ward
Comparisons for the purpose of determining a gain, hold or loss of a seat, and for all percentage changes, is to the last time these specific seats were up for election in 2011. A "*" indicates that that councillor was re-elected.


2015 Portuguese legislative election
The Portuguese legislative election of 2015 was held on 4 October. All 230 seats of the Assembly of the Republic were in contention.


2015 Portuguese legislative election
The right-wing coalition Portugal Ahead (PàF), composed of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the People's Party (CDS-PP), won the single largest vote with 38.6% and securing almost 47% of the seats in the Assembly. Compared with 2011, this was a loss of 12% in support (although the PSD and the CDS–PP did not contest the 2011 election in coalition). On the electoral map, the coalition won every district in the North and in the Centre except Castelo Branco. They also won in the big districts of Lisbon and Porto. The map shows a clear north–south divide, with the conservative coalition winning almost everything in the North and Centre and the PS winning in the South.


2015 Portuguese legislative election
The Socialist Party (PS) was the second most voted political force, winning 32.3% of the vote and 37% of the seats in the Parliament. The PS received a higher share of the vote than in 2011, but did not increase its share by as much of a margin as had been predicted by the opinion polls prior to September 2015. António Costa, former mayor of Lisbon, was not able to win the city of Lisbon, where the PS lost to PàF 35% to 37%. Although the PS and the other left-wing parties did win a clear overall majority in Parliament, in his concession speech Costa said that he would not support "a negative coalition" with the Left Bloc and Communist Party and that he would rather talk and negotiate with the PSD/CDS–PP coalition.


2015 Portuguese legislative election
The Left Bloc (BE), despite predictions by opinion polls, achieved its best result in history, with more than 10% of the vote, becoming the third largest parliamentary group. The CDU's (Communists and Greens) share of the vote increased slightly compared to 2011, receiving 8% of the vote and one additional MP. The People–Animals–Nature (PAN) also elected one member of parliament becoming the first time since 1999 in which a new party entered the Assembly. Voter turnout reached a new low, with just 55.8% of the electorate casting their ballot on election day.


2015 Portuguese legislative election
Passos Coelho was asked, by the President of the Republic, to form a minority government that took the oath of office on October 30, 2015. The government fell after the approval of a motion to bring it down on 10 November. On 24 November, António Costa was appointed by the President of the Republic as Prime Minister-designate. Costa was sworn in on 26 November 2015.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Politics of Portugal
The President of Portugal has the power to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic by their own will. Unlike in other countries, the President can refuse to dissolve the parliament at the request of the Prime Minister or the Assembly of the Republic and all the parties represented in Parliament.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Politics of Portugal
If the Prime Minister resigns, the President must appoint a new Prime Minister after listening to all the parties represented in Parliament and then the government programme must be subject to discussion by the Assembly of the Republic, whose members of parliament may present a motion to reject the upcoming government.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, PS Primaries 2014
The 2014 Portuguese Socialist Party prime ministerial primary was held on 28 September 2014. It was the first open primary in the history of the party, and of Portugal, and elected the party's candidate for Prime Minister for the 2015 general election. There were two candidates running, António José Seguro, General Secretary of the party at the time of the primary, and António Costa, mayor of Lisbon. António Costa won the primary by a landslide with 67.9% of the vote against the 31.7% of Antonio José Seguro, resulting in Seguro conceding defeat and resigning as General Secretary of the party. Costa was next elected new socialist's General Secretary on 22 November 2014.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Date
According to the Portuguese Constitution, an election must be called between 14 September and 14 October of the year that the legislature ends. The election is called by the President of Portugal but is not called at the request of the Prime Minister, however the President must listen all the parties represented in Parliament and the election day must be announced at least 60 days before the election. If an election is called in the middle of the legislature (Dissolution of Parliament) it must be held at least in 55 days.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Date
Election day is the same in all multi-seats constituencies, and should fall on a Sunday or national holiday. The next legislative election must, therefore, took place no later than 11 October 2015. After meeting with all of the parties represented in parliament on 21 July 2015, the President Aníbal Cavaco Silva called the election for 4 October.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Electoral system
The Assembly of the Republic has 230 members elected to four-year terms. Governments do not require absolute majority support of the Assembly to hold office, as even if the number of opposers of government is larger than that of the supporters, the number of opposers still needs to be equal or greater than 116 (absolute majority) for both the Government's Programme to be rejected or for a motion of no confidence to be approved.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Electoral system
The number of seats assigned to each district depends on the district magnitude. The use of the d'Hondt method makes for a higher effective threshold than certain other allocation methods such as the Hare quota or Sainte-Laguë method, which are more generous to small parties.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Background, Electoral system
For these elections, and compared with the 2011 elections, the MPs distributed by districts were the following:


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Parties, Parliamentary factions
The table below lists the parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic during the 12th legislature (2011-2015):


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Parties, Contesting parties
The parties and coalitions that contested seats to the Portuguese parliament, and their leaders, were:


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Campaign period, Candidates' debates
After changes in the electoral law that obligated that all of the parties contesting an election should be represented in debates, the 3 main TV networks RTP, SIC and TVI proposed 3 debates between the two main candidates António Costa and Pedro Passos Coelho and also a series of head-to-head debates between various party leaders and one debate with all party leaders. After meetings with the various parties, it was decided to hold two face-to-face debates between António Costa and Pedro Passos Coelho in which one will be broadcast on television and the other on radio. There was also going to be a debate between all the parties represented in Parliament but it was cancelled by the refusal of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition to have only the leader of the PSD on the debate and not also the leader of the CDS-PP, Paulo Portas


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Results
The results display a relative victory of the right-wing coalition, but they also display a combined victory of the left-wing parties (including the Socialist Party), with a hung parliament (a right-wing single winner and a left-wing majority parliament).


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Results, Maps
Percentage of votes for the left-wing parties represented in the Parliament, by district or autonomous region.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Results, Maps
Most voted-for political fields by district/autonomous regions: Left: PS, BE, CDU; Right: PàF.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
The Socialists, the Left Bloc, the Communists and the Greens started negotiations to form a left-wing majority coalition government. On 19 October 2015, the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party, António Costa, rejected the proposal for a post-election coalition government with the right-wing alliance PàF. On the next day, Costa said that the Socialist Party would reject in the parliament any government that would be led by Pedro Passos Coelho and supported by the right-wing coalition Portugal Ahead.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
During the same day, António Costa guaranteed to President Aníbal Cavaco Silva that the Socialist Party had the conditions to form a government, supported in the parliament by the Left Bloc and the Communist Party. After being consulted by the President, the Socialist Party, the Left Bloc, the Communist Party and the Greens expressed their intention to support a government of the Socialist Party, led by António Costa.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
Among the most likely scenarios that were considered for a new government were:


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
On 22 October, President Aníbal Cavaco Silva controversially designated Pedro Passos Coelho to form a new government, which after taking the oath of office had 10 days to submit its programme in Parliament. But the PS, BE and CDU had already stated that they would call a motion of rejection to bring down the government.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
On 23 October, the new Assembly of the Republic was opened. Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, a Socialist, was elected as President of the Assembly with the support of the Socialists, the Communists, the Left Bloc and the Greens. He received 120 votes against 108 votes for the government's candidate.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation
The members of the second Passos Coelho government took the oath of office on 30 October. The government programme was to be voted in the Parliament on 10 November.


2015 Portuguese legislative election, Government formation, Fall of the government
The Socialist Party reached agreements with the three other left-wing parties: the Left Bloc, the Communists and the Greens. Those agreements were eventually approved by the national organs of the Socialist Party on 8 November. On 10 November, the Portugal Ahead government programme was rejected in a motion of rejection by a vote of 123 to 107 MPs. On 26 November, a new government was established as a Socialist Party minority government led by Prime Minister António Costa.


2015 Powiat Poznański Open
The 2015 Powiat Poznański Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the second edition of the tournament and part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $75,000 in prize money. It took place in Sobota, Poland, on 27 July–2 August 2015.


2015 Powiat Poznański Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Powiat Poznański Open – Doubles
Barbora Krejčíková and Aleksandra Krunić were the defending champions, but Krunić chose not to participate. Krejčíková partnered Katarzyna Piter, but lost in the quarterfinals to Tatiana Búa and Georgina García Pérez.


2015 Powiat Poznański Open – Doubles
Kiki Bertens and Richèl Hogenkamp won the title, defeating Cornelia Lister and Jeļena Ostapenko in the final, 7–6(7–2), 6–4.


2015 Powiat Poznański Open – Singles
Kristína Kučová was the defending champion, but lost to Stephanie Vogt in the first round.


2015 Powiat Poznański Open – Singles
Petra Cetkovská won the title by defeating Jeļena Ostapenko in the final, 3–6, 7–5, 6–2.


2015 Poznań Open
The 2015 Poznań Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the twelfth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place at the Park Tenisowy Olimpia in Poznań, Poland from 11 to 19 July 2015, including the qualifying competition in the first two days. The tournament had its prize money increased to €64,000 + Hospitality, and thus offered 100 ATP Ranking points for singles and doubles winners.


2015 Poznań Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Poznań Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry as an lucky loser into the singles main draw:


2015 Poznań Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Poznań Open – Doubles
Radu Albot and Adam Pavlásek were the defending champions, but Albot decided not to participate, and Pavlásek played alongside Jan Šátral instead, but they lost in the first round to Michał Dembek and Viktor Kostin.


2015 Poznań Open – Doubles
Michail Elgin and Mateusz Kowalczyk won the title, defeating Julio Peralta and Matt Seeberger in the final, 3–6, 6–3, [10–6].


2015 Poznań Open – Singles
David Goffin was the defending champion, but he participated in Davis Cup instead this year.


2015 Poznań Open – Singles
Pablo Carreño Busta won the title, defeating Radu Albot in the final, 6–4, 6–4.


2015 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team
The 2015 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team represented Prairie View A&M University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Panthers were led by first year head coach Willie Simmons and played their home games at Waller ISD Football Stadium in Waller, Texas due to renovations at Edward L. Blackshear Field. They were a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 8–2, 8–1 in SWAC play to finish in second place in the West Division.


2015 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team, Schedule
± University of Faith did not meet NCAA accreditation guidelines and all stats and records from this game do not count.


2015 Preakness Stakes
The 2015 Preakness Stakes, (run as the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes due to sponsorship), was the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes, promoted as the "middle jewel" of thoroughbred horse racing's traditional Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes. The race was held at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 16, 2015, and was televised on NBC.


2015 Preakness Stakes
The event carried a $1,500,000 purse. The winner was American Pharoah, who won by seven lengths with jockey Victor Espinoza aboard. The win by American Pharoah set up an attempt for the Triple Crown for the second time in two years. The Maryland Jockey Club reported a track record total attendance of 131,680, the second highest attendance for American thoroughbred racing events in North America during 2015.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Pre-race
Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed on May 3 that the 2015 Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah came out of the Derby in good health and would be running the Preakness Stakes. The connections of the other top three finishers, Firing Line and Dortmund, announced they would challenge in the event.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Pre-race
Two contenders that did not appear in the Kentucky Derby were announced as probable entrants in late April: Grade III Lexington Stakes winner Divining Rod (owned by Lael Stable, trained by Arnaud Delacour, bred by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jackson, ridden by jockey Julien Leparoux) and Listed Stakes Federico Tesio Stakes winner at Pimlico Bodhisattva (owned and trained by Jose Corrales, ridden by jockey Trevor McCarthy).


2015 Preakness Stakes, Pre-race
A week prior to the Preakness, other contenders were announced. These included fifth-placed Kentucky Derby competitor Danzig Moon and the also-eligible Tale of Verve who did not start in the Derby.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Pre-race
The draw for the race was held on May 13 and eight horses were entered. This was the smallest field in 15 years. American Pharoah drew the pole position and was installed as the morning line favorite. All entries carried 126 pounds.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Race description
Immediately prior to post time, the skies opened up with a heavy downpour and thunder, changing the track conditions. The infield and grandstands were evacuated shortly before post time due to concerns about spectators being struck by lightning. The last time the Preakness had been run on a sloppy track was in 1983. American Pharoah was the only horse in the field to have previously won under such conditions, having won the Rebel Stakes on a sloppy track.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Race description
He had the lead within the first quarter-mile and was challenged by Mr. Z  early on, but held the lead on the inside throughout the race. He was challenged by Dortmund and then Divining Rod, but American Pharoah broke from the pack in the homestretch and won by seven lengths, as Tale of Verve made a strong rally to overtake Divining Rod to place. Firing Line slipped badly at the start and was eased in the stretch. Baffert commented on American Pharoah's race, "when I saw those ears go up [on the backside of the track], I thought, ‘Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.’” The win by American Pharoah set up an attempt for the Triple Crown for the second time in two years.


2015 Preakness Stakes, Race description
Due to weather conditions, the winning time of 1:58.46 was the slowest time since Hill Prince won in 1950 with a time of 1:59.20, and well off the record, set by Secretariat in 1973, of 1:53.00. The intensity of the rain was described in a post-race interview by Firing Line's rider, Gary Stevens, who explained that he weighed in at 120 pounds with equipment prior to the race, but was 135 pounds afterwards—without his helmet—and needed to empty water out of his riding boots following his weigh-out. Stevens added that the conditions made little difference to the outcome, however, saying "it would take a super horse to beat what might be a super horse in American Pharoah."


2015 Preakness Stakes, Race description
The city of Baltimore had been in a state of tension due to the death of Freddie Gray and surrounding civil disorder, and the Preakness was the state's major one-day sporting event, viewed as critical in the healing process for the city. Concerns existed because the track was only three miles from the Mondawmin Mall, where there had been riots. Pimlico's former vice-president for communications, Mike Gathagan, stated to ESPN, "I think sports, like ... the Preakness can help bring back normalcy...


2015 Preakness Stakes, Race description
It could help start the healing process..."  Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in awarding the traditional Woodlawn Vase replica to American Pharoah's owner, Ahmed Zayat, stated, "It's a great day for Baltimore, a great day for Maryland." Comparing the 2015 Preakness to the post-9/11 home run of Mike Piazza, ESPN's Bob Ehalt wrote, "for that reason alone, this could be the biggest and most important Preakness ever."


2015 Premier League Asia Trophy
The 2015 Premier League Asia Trophy was the seventh edition of the Premier League Asia Trophy. Arsenal, Everton, Stoke City and Singapore Selection XI competed for the Premier League Asia Trophy. It was held in Singapore at the National Stadium from 15–18 July 2015. The 3rd/4th placing and finals were played on 18 July 2015.


2015 Premier League Darts
The 2015 Betway Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the eleventh edition of the tournament. The event began at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on 4 February, and ended at The O2 Arena, London on 21 May. The tournament was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. This was the second year that the tournament was sponsored by Betway.


2015 Premier League Darts
Raymond van Barneveld was the defending champion, but he lost to Michael van Gerwen 10–8 in the semi-finals. Gary Anderson won his second Premier League Darts title by beating van Gerwen 11–7 in the final.


2015 Premier League Darts
For the first time in the Premier League's history, 6 time winner Phil Taylor did not qualify for the play-offs.


2015 Premier League Darts, Format
The tournament format was identical to that since 2013. During the first nine weeks (phase 1) each player plays the other nine players once. The bottom two players are eliminated from the competition. In the next six weeks (phase 2), each player plays the other seven players once. Phase 2 consists of four weeks where five matches are played followed by two weeks where four matches are played. At the end of phase 2 the top four players contest the two semi-finals and the final in the play-off week.


2015 Premier League Darts, Players
The competitors who competed at the tournament were announced following the 2015 PDC World Darts Championship final on 4 January 2015, with the top four of the PDC Order of Merit joined by six Wildcards.


2015 Premier League Darts, Players
Robert Thornton (world number 8), Wes Newton (number 16), and Simon Whitlock (number 7) did not return from last year. James Wade returned this year following his absence from the 2014 Premier League, along with two debutants, Kim Huybrechts, the first Belgian to compete in the league, and Stephen Bunting, the 2014 BDO world champion who had a successful first year with the PDC.


2015 Premier League Darts, Prize money
The prize money was dramatically increased to £700,000 from £550,000 in 2014.


2015 Premier League Darts, Table and streaks, Table
After the first nine weeks (phase 1), the bottom two in the table are eliminated. Each remaining player plays a further seven matches (phase 2). The top four players then participate in the playoffs.


2015 Premier League Darts, Table and streaks, Table
When players are tied on points, leg difference is used first as a tie-breaker, after that legs won against throw and then tournament average.


2015 Premier League Darts, Table and streaks, Table
Last updated: 15 May 2015Source: Match reports from the results section.


2015 Premier League Darts, Table and streaks, Table
Top four qualified for the Play-offs after Week 15. NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. A = AverageC% = Checkout PercentageHC = High Checkout.


2015 Premier League speedway season
The 2015 Premier League season was the second division of British speedway.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Summary
took place between March and October 2015. The Edinburgh Monarchs were the defending champions after winning the championship in 2014. The 13 teams that competed remained unchanged from the teams who competed in 2014. There had been concerns about whether or not the Peterborough Panthers would be able to compete but their future was secured after being able to raise the money necessary to continue racing.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Summary
In an all-Scottish final, the Edinburgh Monarchs became the first team to win consecutive Premier League titles, by beating the Glasgow Tigers in the Grand Final. The Tigers held a 7-point lead after the first leg at Ashfield, but the Monarchs won 14 of the 15 heats in the second leg at Armadale – winning 58–32 on the night – to win the tie overall 99–80. It was one of three titles won by the Monarchs in 2015; in the Premier League Cup, the Monarchs beat the Tigers once again 100–79, while the quartet of Craig Cook, Sam Masters, Erik Riss and Justin Sedgmen won the Premier League Fours.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Summary
Aside from Edinburgh's successes, the Somerset Rebels defeated the Monarchs to win the Knockout Cup, Daniel King and Rohan Tungate won the Premier League Pairs for the Ipswich Witches, and Danish rider Ulrich Østergaard won the Premier League Riders' Championship for the Peterborough Panthers.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Premier League Knockout Cup
The 2015 Premier League Knockout Cup was the 48th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams. Somerset Rebels were the winners of the competition.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Final
Edinburgh were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 92–88.


2015 Premier League speedway season, Teams
Team-by-teamUnless otherwise stated, all listed riders were declared at the start of the 2015 Premier League season.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
The 2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series was the sixth Rugby Union 7-a-side competition for the twelve 2015–16 Aviva Premiership Clubs, and the second including the four Welsh Regions that compete in the Pro12.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series
The pool stage of the tournament started on 15 August 2015, before continuing on 20–22 August 2015. The final took place on 28 August 2015.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Format
The sixteen teams were split into four groups - A, B, C & D, based on geographical location. Each team in the group played each other once, to the World Rugby Laws of the Game - 7s Variations. Based on the result, teams received:


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Format
Following all each group, the winner and runner up in each group progressed to the Final Stage. In the final, the 8 teams (4 Winners and 4 Runners up) were arranged into 4 quarter-final pairings. The winners of each match qualified for the Cup semi-finals, with the losers moving into a new Plate competition. Thereafter, competition was a simple knockout bracket, with the winner of the Cup final being declared the series winner.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Group stage, Group A
Dates: Saturday August 15, 2015Venue: BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Group stage, Group C
At the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on Friday 21 August 2015.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Final Stage
Finals day was played at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday 28 August 2015.


2015 Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, Final Stage
The four pool winners played a quarter-final against a runner up from another pool. The winner of these quarter finals would compete in the cup competition, while the losers would compete in the plate competition.


2015 Premios Juventud
The 12th Annual Premios Juventud (Youth Awards) were broadcast by Univision on July 16, 2015.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season
The 2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season is the fourth season of play for the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec; the highest level of soccer based in the Canadian province of Québec and one of two Division 3 semi-professional soccer leagues in the Canadian soccer pyramid (the other being League1 Ontario).


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season
The season began on 2 May 2015 and ended on 18 October 2015, with the cup final taking place on 24 October 2015. CS Longueuil was the defending champion from 2014.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Changes from 2014
Two new teams joined the league for this season, while ACP Montréal-Nord did not return due to administrative difficulties. Joining the league are Lakeshore SC, which is based in the southwestern portion of the island of Montreal, while the other is an academy team of Ottawa Fury FC, whose primary team competes in the Division 2 North American Soccer League. This expansion into Ottawa marks the first time a team from outside Québec will take part in the PLSQ, with Fury FC citing the proximity of other teams as making the PLSQ a logical choice.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Changes from 2014
This season will also feature the arrival of a reserve division, which will allow PLSQ teams to establish a youth development pathway. In addition, the league commissioned Montreal composer Vincent Duhaime-Perreault to compose an anthem for the league, which will be played prior to all season and cup matches.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Standings
Each team will play 18 matches as part of the season; three matches against each other team in the league split home and away. There are no playoffs at the end of the season; the first-place team will be crowned as league champion and will face the L1O league champion in the Inter-Provincial Cup.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Cup
The cup tournament is a separate contest from the rest of the season, in which all seven teams from the league take part, and is unrelated to the season standings. It is not a form of playoffs at the end of the season (as is typically seen in North American sports), but is a competition running in parallel to the regular season (similar to the Canadian Championship or the FA Cup), albeit only for PLSQ teams. All matches are separate from the regular season, and are not reflected in the season standings.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Cup
The 2015 PLSQ Cup will maintain the same format as the previous season, as a two-game aggregate knockout tournament with a single match final. As defending champion, FC Gatineau will obtain a bye for the first round.


2015 Première Ligue de soccer du Québec season, Inter-Provincial Cup Championship
The Inter-Provincial Cup Championship was a two-legged home-and-away series between the league champions of League1 Ontario and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec – the only Division 3 men's semi-professional soccer leagues based fully within Canada.


2015 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team
The 2015 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team represented Presbyterian College in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Harold Nichols and played their home games at Bailey Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–5 in Big South play to finish in last place.


2015 President of Ireland's Cup
The 2015 President's Cup was the second President's Cup contested for. The match was played between 2014 League of Ireland champions Dundalk and 2014 FAI Cup winners, St Patrick's Athletic on 28 February 2015, at Oriel Park. Dundalk came from behind to win the game 2-1.


2015 President of Ireland's Cup
Christopher Forrester put St Patrick's Athletic ahead in the 35th minute when he turned in a low cross from the right from close range. Daryl Horgan made it 1-1 a minute later when he scored with a shot from just outside the box with his right foot. Richie Towell got the winner for Dundalk a minute later turning in a cross from the left which wrong footed the goalkeeper.


2015 President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil election
The 2015 President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil election took place on 1 February 2015, following the opening of the 55th Legislature of the National Congress. President Henrique Eduardo Alves (PMDB-RN) wasn't reelect federal deputy, but his caucus mate, Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ), was chosen as the party's candidate. Cunha received 267 votes, over the majority of the Chamber, to become its president. PT leader Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP) garnered 136, and 100 votes to Júlio Delgado (PSB-MG), 8 to Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ), and 2 blank votes.


2015 President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil election
Deputy Miro Teixeira (PROS-RJ) presided the session and sworned in all the 513 deputies and the elect President of the Chamber.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives)
The 2015 President's Cup is the 65th season of the President's Cup. New Radiant Sports Club are the defending champions, having beaten Eagles in last season's final in extra time.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives)
This is the first tournament under its current tournament format.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Participating teams
According to the current format, all teams playing in the 2015 Dhivehi Premier League will be appearing in the President's Cup.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Participating teams, Final draw
The draw took place on 12 August 2015 at the FAM House in Male'.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Venues
2 venues in two islands were selected for the tournament. Group stage matches are to be played at both venues; (Group A matches in Kulhudhuffushi and Group B matches in Addu City), while the knock-out round matches are scheduled to be held at Addu City.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Background
This is the second edition of this tournament, being played in a venue other than Male' since it was once held at Addu City in 1970. It is the first year for Kulhudhuffushi to host this tournament.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Format
The first round, or group stage, was a competition between the 8 teams divided among two groups of four, where each group engaged in a round-robin tournament within itself. The two highest ranked teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. Teams were awarded three points for a win and one for a draw. When comparing teams in a group over-all result came before head-to-head.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Format
The two semi-final losers competed in a third place play-off. For any match after the group stage, a draw after 90 minutes of regulation time was followed by two 15 minute periods of extra time to determine a winner. If the teams were still tied, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine a winner


2015 President's Cup (Maldives), Broadcasting rights
The broadcasting rights for some matches of 2015 Maldives President's Cup were given to the Television Maldives.


2015 President's Cup (Maldives) Final
The 2015 President's Cup (Maldives) Final was the 65th Final of the Maldives President's Cup.


2015 President's Cup (tennis)
The 2015 President's Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the tenth edition of the men's tournament and the seventh edition for women, part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit respectively. Offering prize money of $75,000 for the men and $25,000 for the women, the events took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 27 July –2 August 2015.


2015 President's Cup (tennis), Men's Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 President's Cup (tennis), Women's Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 President's Cup (tennis), Women's Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2015 President's Cup (tennis) – Men's Doubles
In the 2015 President's Cup (tennis) – Men's Doubles, Sergei Bubka and Marco Chiudinelli were the defending champions, but they did not participate this year.


2015 President's Cup (tennis) – Men's Doubles
Konstantin Kravchuk and Denys Molchanov won the tournament, defeating Chung Yun-seong and Jurabek Karimov in the final.


2015 President's Cup (tennis) – Men's Singles
Ričardas Berankis was the defending champion, but chose to play in the Atlanta Open instead.


2015 President's Cup (tennis) – Men's Singles
Mikhail Kukushkin won the tournament, defeating Evgeny Donskoy in the final.


2015 Presidents Cup
The 2015 Presidents Cup was the 11th Presidents Cup, played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, South Korea from 8–11 October. It was the first time the Presidents Cup was played in Asia.


2015 Presidents Cup
The United States won for the sixth successive time with a 151⁄2–141⁄2 victory over the International team.


2015 Presidents Cup, Format
The format changed from previous Cup play. The first two days consisted of five matches of foursomes and five matches of fourball. The third day consisted of four matches of foursomes and four matches of fourball. The host team captain decided the order, fourball vs. foursomes, on the first three days. On the fourth and final day, twelve singles matches were played. 30 matches were played in all. All matches that are all-square after 18 holes scored 1⁄2 point for each team.


2015 Presidents Cup, Format
Each member of the teams had to play in a minimum of two matches in the first three days, a reduction from the three match minimum from 2003 to 2013.


2015 Presidents Cup, Team qualification and selection, International team
The International team featured the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking at the conclusion of the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship on 7 September and two captain's picks. The captain's picks were announced on 8 September 2015.


2015 Presidents Cup, Team qualification and selection, United States team
The United States team featured the 10 players who earn the most official FedExCup points from the 2013 BMW Championship through to the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship, with points earned in the calendar year 2015 counting double, and two captain's picks. The captain's picks were announced on 8 September 2015.


2015 Presidents Cup, Team qualification and selection, United States team
On 2 October it was announced that Jim Furyk would not play in the Presidents Cup due to a wrist injury, and would be replaced by J. B. Holmes. Furyk served instead as an assistant captain.


2015 Presidents Cup, Teams, Captains
Jay Haas captained the U.S. team, and Nick Price captained the International team. Haas served as the captain's assistant for the previous three U.S. teams. Price was the International team captain in 2013.


2015 Presidents Cup, Teams, Captains
Fred Couples was a captain's assistant for the U.S. team, and K. J. Choi was a vice-captain for the International team.


2015 Presidents Cup, Notables
Anirban Lahiri (India) and Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) became the first representatives of their respective countries to play in the Presidents Cup. Phil Mickelson has appeared in all eleven Presidents Cups. Host country South Korea was represented with vice captain K. J. Choi, Danny Lee (who plays as a New Zealander, but was born in South Korea), and Bae Sang-moon in his last competition before his military obligation.


2015 Presidents Cup, Friday's fourball matches
The American pairing of Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson were penalised 1 hole after Mickelson played a harder ball at the par 5 7th hole, in contravention to a "one-ball condition". The one-ball condition states that a player must use the same type of ball throughout his round. The one-ball condition was in place for the fourball matches, although not for the foursomes. After his tee shot, Mickelson was incorrectly informed by a rules official that he was disqualified from the hole and Mickelson picked up his ball.


2015 Presidents Cup, Friday's fourball matches
The correct penalty was a loss of 1 hole, which was adjusted to the state of the match after the 7th hole. However, it was then too late for Mickelson, who could have played out the 7th hole. Jason Day won the 7th hole with a birdie 4. The match had been all square after 6 holes but, with the International pair winning the 7th hole and with the 1 hole penalty, the International pair became 2 up after 7 holes. The match ended up all square.


2015 Presidents Cup, Saturday's matches, Afternoon fourball
By winning their match, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace became the first International pair to win four matches, playing together, in a Presidents Cup match. Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods, in 2009, were previously the only pair to have achieved this.


2015 Presidents Cup, Sunday's singles matches
The United States won the Presidents Cup for the sixth straight time, defeating the International team 151⁄2 to 141⁄2. American Bill Haas, the son of team captain Jay Haas, clinched the victory on the final hole of the final match. With Haas 1 up, Bae needed to win the 18th to halve the match and the Presidents Cup. Bae mishit his third shot, a chip, and then missed his fourth shot. Haas then hit his third shot, from a bunker, to 6 feet and Bae conceded the match. Earlier Branden Grace has won his singles match, becoming only the fifth player to win five matches in a Presidents Cup match. In the 2013 Presidents Cup he had lost all four of his matches.


2015 Presidents Cup, Individual player records
Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.


2015 Preston City Council election
The 2015 by-thirds election to Preston City Council took place on 7 May 2015 as part of the 2015 United Kingdom local elections on the same day (and in the same polling places) as the general election to elect approximately one-third of councillors for a four-year term.


2015 Preston City Council election
Councillors elected in 2011 Preston City Council election defended their seats this time. Each ward's election can be directly compared with the 2011 elections or indirectly compared looking at councillors' and candidates' correlations in their own party results to the 2014 Preston City Council election.


2015 Preston City Council election, Results
All percentage changes are based on the last election for this group of Councillors, which was the 2011 Preston City Council election.


2015 Preston City Council election, Results
This election's effects on the composition of the council combined with the totals and percentages of votes for the third elected is as follows:


2015 Priceline Pharmacy Classic – Draw
The 2015 Priceline Pharmacy Classic took place between 13-16 January at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.


2015 Primera B Nacional
The 2015 Argentine Primera B Nacional season was the 30th season of Argentine second division, with a total of 22 competing teams. It began 14 February and ended 14 November 2015. Although there was some use of a different name earlier in the year, the AFA has consistently used the Primera B Nacional moniker in releases of late.


2015 Primera B Nacional, Competition format
The league's format has changed from last season. This year there will be twenty-two teams which will play each other twice for a total of forty-two matches.


2015 Primera B Nacional, Competition format
In November 2014, the AFA announced two teams from this season will be promoted to the Primera División. It was later reported that the champion will be promoted directly and positions 2-5 will compete in the "Torneo Reducido" for the second place after the regular season. At the end of the season, four teams will be relegated.


2015 Primera B Nacional, Torneo Reducido
At the end of the regular season, the four teams placed 2-5 will advance to compete for one place next season in the 2016 Primera División. If a team finishes in 2-5 place but will be relegated, the next highest placed team will advance to the playoff. Teams will play each other over two legs in each round. Matches were played between 19 November – 5 December.


2015 Primera B Nacional, Relegation
The bottom four teams of this table face relegation. Clubs with an indirect affiliation with Argentine Football Association are relegated to the Torneo Federal A, while clubs directly affiliated face relegation to Primera B Metropolitana.


2015 Primera B Nacional, Relegation, Relegation playoff
A single play-off match was played on 25 November 2015 to determine the fourth team to be relegated. Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza lost the play-off match on penalties and were relegated.


2015 Prince Edward Island Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2015 Prince Edward Island Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the provincial women's curling championship of Prince Edward Island, were held from January 23 to 26 at the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. The winning team was the Suzanne Birt rink from Charlottetown who represented Prince Edward Island at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.