Poland votes on Sunday in a knife-edge presidential election between a populist incumbent closely allied with US President Donald Trump and a europhile liberal …
Poland votes on Sunday in a knife-edge presidential election between a populist incumbent closely allied with US President Donald Trump and a europhile liberal who wants to restore ties with Brussels.
The result will be decisive for the future of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party government, which critics accuse of rolling back hard-won democratic freedoms three decades after the fall of communism.
President Andrzej Duda, backed by the PiS, is facing a challenge from Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski of the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party and the latest polls show an almost even split between the two.
„The Battle for Poland“, read a front-page headline in the tabloid Super Express. The liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza said the choice was between „hope and disaster“ and would resonate for generations.
The vote had been due in May — at a time when Duda was riding high in the polls — but was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Duda’s support has slipped considerably since then, partly because of the virus fallout, which is pushing Poland into its first recession since communist rule.
– Too close to call? –
Polls open at 0500 GMT and close at 1900 GMT, with an exit poll scheduled shortly after that and the first official results only expected Monday morning.
