Campaign silence in Poland before the second round of the presidential election on Sunday, July 12 in which Poland’s incumbent conservative President Andrzej Duda faces centrist challenger Rafał Trzaskowski
In Poland, the president is the head of state, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. The president is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, which may be overridden by a majority of three fifths, and can dissolve parliament under certain conditions.
Andrzej Duda became president in 2015 and is bidding for another five years in office. He has presented himself as a champion of traditional, patriotic values and of the poor.
He came top in the first round of the presidential contest last month, garnering 43.5 percent of the vote.
Rafał Trzaskowski is a former government minister who was elected mayor of Warsaw in October 2018. In the first round he gathered 30.46 percent, according to the National Electoral Commission (PKW).
He is seen as more progressive than his rival, and has positioned himself a defender of local decision-making rather than what he says is the government’s instinct to centralise power.
No candidate out of the 11 running won an outright majority in a first round of voting on June 28. Polish election rules specify that if no presidential contender wins more than 50 percent of the vote in a first-round contest, a second round is held two weeks later.
The presidential vote was originally scheduled for May 10, but failed to go ahead amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
The ban on campaigning in Poland continues until polls close at 9 pm on Sunday.
Source: PAP/IAR