Presidential election in Poland: Duda missed an absolute majority

In the first round of Polish presidential elections on Sunday, incumbent President Andrzej Duda has scored a clear victory. The note from the national conservative ruling party, the PiS derived Duda (now istAndrzej Duda is not a member of the PiS more. d. Red.) to be fair a result of 2015, as he scored nearly 35 percent of the vote, according to forecasts, to 41.8 percent increase. His closest rival, the Warsaw mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, came to 30.4 percent. In spite of the Corona-pandemic, a high turnout was recorded earlier in the afternoon. The electoral Commission in Warsaw, according to almost 48 per cent had up to 17 at entitled to vote, in 2015 there were a total of approximately 49 percent.

Gerhard Gnauck

Political correspondent for Poland, the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, based in Warsaw.

Trzaskowski candidate of the liberal civic platform (PO), a sister party of the CDU/CSU in the EPP. He is with his result in the first round a good three percentage points below the result of the PO's candidate in 2015. Nevertheless, it is expected to be extremely close outcome of the runoff election in two weeks. Because the other candidates had ridden in large part on an Anti-Duda-wave. The independent journalist and political newcomer Szymon Hołownia occupied, without a party behind him, with a good 13 percent from the prior third place. The Nationalist Krzysztof Bosak, of the had attacked Duda from the right, got more than seven percent. Just under three per cent, remained the candidate of the Left, Robert Biedroń, and the head of the peasant party PSL, Mr Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The turnout was increased the forecast of 63 per cent.

Duda and Trzaskowski took advantage of your time on election night to congratulate its main competitors, the nationalists included, in particular, and you the recognition to say the end of words, apparently also in order to make their voters a good impression. Trzaskowski was a very short election party under the open sky, optimistic about the second round: "58 percent of our society wants a change. I'm going to be the candidate of change!“ Trzaskowski called on incumbent Duda to a fair organised TV debate. The third-placed Hołownia, had led to what is commonly believed, as a beginner, the most effective election campaign, announced that a "citizens ' movement". "We will change Poland from the bottom up, because it is so difficult to change Poland from above."