Poland: Incumbent Duda holds slim lead against Trzaskowski in presidential vote

Poland’s incumbent President Andrzej Duda was slightly ahead in the presidential election held on July 12, according to a late poll combining exit poll and partial official results. Duda received 50.8 per cent of the vote while his main rival Rafal Trzaskowski, a liberal Warsaw Mayor, was a close second with 49.2 per cent.

If the late poll holds true, Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS), will be able to retain his presidency and bring more conservative reforms including controversial changes to the judiciary. However, the pollster Ipsos said that the exit poll had a margin of error of two percentage point, which means the final result could go either way. 

Due to the close margin of the late poll, Trzaskowski, the candidate of the centrist Civic Platform (PO), has not conceded defeat and hailed the “power” of the vote after the polls concluded.  "The result has probably never been so close in Polish history, we've never felt the power in our vote so much," Warsaw mayor told his supporters.

"All we need is to count the votes. The night will be tense but I am certain that when the votes are counted, we will win," he added.

Read: Poland Holds Momentous, Tight Presidential Election Runoff

Trzaskowski has been a proponent of progressive agenda and has backed Poland’s active role in the European Union, unlike Duda. He joined the presidential race in May and rose fast to pose a strong challenge to Duda, a conservative leader popular in rural areas and country’s eastern region.

Duda's US visit

Recently, Duda met US President Donald Trump in Washington, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Trump since the global lockdowns due to coronavirus pandemic. Duda’s visit to the US was seen as an attempt to boost his chances of re-election. According to Polish media reports, Trump could offer 2,000 US troops to Poland, double the number initially agreed in June 2019. 

Read: Poland Wants Generous EU Budget For Central Europe

(Image: AP)