Poland is in the runoff election

In the presidential election in Poland, the national conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda missed the absolute majority required for re-election, according to initial forecasts. He now has to face a runoff election against opposition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski in two weeks. According to Exit Polls, Duda received 41.8 percent of the vote, Trzaskowski 30.4 percent. Voter turnout was high despite the corona pandemic. According to the Ipsos Institute, it was 62.9 percent.

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. 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.

The election was also seen as a kind of referendum on the policies of the national conservative governing party 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. The office of Polish President is not purely representative, the President has extensive powers and can not only veto laws, but also initiate his own legislative initiatives.

PiS fears the President’s right of veto

Trzaskowski represents the largest opposition alliance, the liberal-conservative civil coalition (KO). His victory in the second round could mean that the PiS can expect the president to exercise his veto right and stop the initiatives in almost all legislative proposals. Trzaskowski has already announced that he intends to reverse PiS’s controversial judicial reform.

The election was originally scheduled for May 10th. As public life was practically crippled due to the corona pandemic, the date was postponed after a violent political dispute. 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. (apa)

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