Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday 28 June, postponed about a month and a half compared to the initially scheduled date due to the coronavirus emergency. According to the exit poll none of the candidates managed to obtain more than 50 percent of the votes: a ballot between the two most voted will therefore be held.
The favorite candidate was the outgoing president Andrzej Duda, independent but tied to Law and Justice (PiS), the radical right-wing party in government since 2015. According to the exit polls he was the most voted candidate, with 41.8 percent of the votes; His opponent in the second round will be Rafał Trzaskowski, a member of the Civic Platform, a liberal center-right party who was in government from 2007 to 2014, who instead obtained 30.4 percent of the vote. The final result of the votes will be declared on Wednesday 1st July, while the ballot will be held on 12th July.
The context of the elections
In recent years Poland has become a semi-authoritarian country, and these elections were considered by some observers as a first possibility of change: in Poland the President of the Republic has little power, but can block the laws he deems undemocratic (what that Duda practically never did, during his first term).
The latest government attacked two pillars of the rule of law: theindependence the judicial system and freedom of expression, increasing government influence on the public media, subjecting the Supreme Court to political scrutiny e threatening the rights of the LGBTQ + community. For these reasons, the Polish elections are also watched with particular attention by other European countries: a new victory for Duda would mean continuity with the government in recent years.
–
