The Polish head of state, the conservative Andrzej Duda, candidate for his re-election, is forced to a second round on July 12 by his liberal rival Rafal Trzaskowski, at the end of the first round Sunday.
Andrzej Duda obtained the support of 41.8% of Poles while the mayor of Warsaw was supported by 30.4% of the voters, according to this poll carried out by the IPSOS institute after the closing of the polling stations.
“The advance is enormous and I am grateful to you,” said Andrzej Duda, 48, during his election night in Lowicz in central Poland.
For the liberal candidate, the second round will be “a choice between open Poland (…) and those who seek conflicts all the time”.
“I will be the candidate for change”, promised Rafal Trzaskowski, also 48 years old, whose watchword is “We have had enough” and who has many reasons to hope for the support of a good part voters of other competitors.
The election campaign was dominated by concerns over the state of democracy and social issues, as Poland faces its first recession since the end of communism.
Poles moved en masse to the polling stations and the turnout was 62.90%, according to the same poll.
Controversial reforms
Duda is supported by the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), considered a key ally of US President Donald Trump, while European partners in Warsaw criticize his reforms, believing that they are eroding democracy, barely three decades later the fall of communism.
A victory for Rafal Trzaskowski, would strike a heavy blow on the government of the Law and Justice Party (PiS), at the origin of a series of controversial reforms, notably in the field of justice.
Kazimierz Kik, a professor of political science at the University of Kielce (south), said Duda had “greater potential” than Trzaskowski to mobilize voters who stayed at home on Sunday.
But, according to political scientist Stanislaw Mocek, the president of the Collegium Civitas University in Warsaw, it is Trzaskowski who “has a good chance of winning” the second round.
Stanislaw Mocek warned that “there is a risk of a brutal campaign”, especially if Duda appeals to far-right voters whose candidate also got a good result in Sunday’s vote.
According to an express study carried out after the announcement of the poll at the exit from the polls, and published Sunday evening by TVN television, Duda can count on 45.5% of the votes, against 44.7% for Trzaskowski, 9.9% Poles remaining undecided.
“This is a decisive moment. Much will really depend on this decision, “said anti-communist icon Lech Walesa while voting in Gdansk with a clear plastic visor on his face.
Walesa, who was elected the first democratic president of Poland in 1990, is a harsh critic of the current government.
“I voted for Trzaskowski of course!” Why? For democracy, the judiciary and respect for minorities, “said 66-year-old Joanna Ugniewska after voting in Warsaw’s city center.
But in Tarnow, in southern Poland, a stronghold of PiS, Andrzej Guzik says he voted for Duda because of his stature as president. “Personally, I only see Duda as president,” said the 52-year-old employee of the state-owned gas company PGNIG.
Anti-gay rhetoric
The Polish government has in recent years introduced a series of popular social benefits which Trzaskowski has committed to keep in the event of a victory.
Duda’s victory should cement the grip of the ruling party – at least until the next legislative elections in 2023. But his defeat could see its influence weaken and call for early elections.
During the campaign, Andrzej Duda fueled controversy by supporting PiS attacks on gay rights and Western values. He compared “LGBT ideology” to a new form of communism.
Rafal Trzaskowski, he defends the rights of homosexuals and said he was open to the idea of civil partnerships of the same sex. These critics point to his party’s weaknesses and denounce a mixed record of his first year at the head of the Warsaw city hall.
(afp/nxp)
Created: 29.06.2020, 01h46
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