At the presidential election in Poland has the national conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda after initial forecasts missed the absolute majority of votes required for re-election. He now has to face a runoff election against opposition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski in two weeks.
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According to an Ipsos post-election survey, Duda came to 41.8 percent. The Mayor of Warsaw Trzaskowski received 30.4 percent of the vote.
Experts certainly give the Warsaw Mayor chances to win in the second round on July 12th. A short result is expected for the runoff election. In the first round, a total of eleven candidates applied for the highest state office.
Voter turnout similar to five years ago – despite Corona
Voter turnout was high despite the corona pandemic. By 5 p.m., almost 48 percent of those entitled to vote had cast their vote, as the election commission in Warsaw announced. In the 2015 presidential election, the total turnout was around 49 percent at the end of the day.
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Duda thanked his voters in Lowicz for the support on Sunday evening. It is important that the country is run as the majority of the population wants it, said Duda with cheers from his followers. He congratulated his challenger Trzaskowski on his success.
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Trzaskowski said to supporters in Warsaw that the result shows that a high percentage of Poles want to switch. “We still have a chance to win.” The second round of elections will decide whether Poland will get a president who will closely watch the government or someone who will not respect his own signature.
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The election was also seen as a kind of referendum on the politics of the PiS, which has been the president since 2015 and has an absolute majority in parliament. A second term in Duda would underpin the party’s monopoly on power until the next parliamentary election in 2023.
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The election was originally scheduled for May 10, but was postponed due to the corona pandemic. Special protection regulations applied in the polling stations on Sunday. In the center of Warsaw, people with face masks stood in line in front of the polling stations because only a limited number of people were allowed in the rooms. Disinfectants were ready at the entrance, the election workers wore gloves and transparent face shields. Voters were required to make their crosses with their own pen.
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