Polish Presidential Runoff Too Close to Call: Exit Polls
By VOA News July 12, 2020
Poland's presidential runoff between the right-wing incumbent and the liberal mayor of Warsaw is too close to call, exit polls said Sunday.
Eash candidate has about 50% of the vote, although the incumbent is marginally ahead. Final results are expected as early as Monday.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is looking to unseat President Andrzej Duda.
Duda's far-right Law and Justice Party is hoping to be able to extend its majority in parliament and implement conservative social, judicial and immigration policies that many in the European Union have criticized as anti-democratic.
Those policies include Duda's pledge to ban gay rights classes in schools. He has called homosexuality worse than communism.
Trzaskowski, of the Civic Platform party, campaigned on promises to preserve the ruling party's popular welfare programs but said he would block any legislation he says would be unconstitutional. He also says he would restore good relations with the European Union.
The coronavirus outbreak forced a nearly two-month delay in the first round of voting.
Observers say the postponement hurt Duda, who had looked as if he would cruise to a first-round victory. But his popularity in the polls slipped after the Civic Platform party replaced a much less popular candidate with Trzaskowski and other candidates were allowed to get out and campaign more when COVID-19 restrictions were eased.
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