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Andrzej Duda is allied with the nationalist Law and Justice-led government
Poland’s incumbent President Andrzej Duda has narrowly beaten challenger Rafal Trzaskowski in Sunday’s presidential vote.
The National Electoral Commission said Mr Duda had won 51.2% of the votes.
It is Poland’s slimmest presidential election victory since the end of communism in 1989.
One of the major issues of the election was the future of the country’s strained relations with the European Union.
Mr Duda is a social conservative allied with the government led by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, while Mr Trzaskowski is the socially liberal mayor of Warsaw.
Mr Duda’s win is expected to lead to further controversial reforms to the judiciary and continued opposition to abortion and gay rights.
At a press conference on Monday morning, the heads of the electoral commission said they were not sure when complete results would be announced, as some polling stations had yet to submit their counts.
But with 99% of all constituencies reporting, those tallies were not expected to affect the result. Turnout was reportedly 68.2%.
The opposition Civic Platform (PO) group – which backed Mr Trzaskowski – told Reuters news agency it was collecting information on voting “irregularities” after the polls closed on Sunday, including reports of Poles abroad not receiving their voting packages in time to take part in the election.
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The election had been due to take place in May, when Mr Duda was higher in the polls and stood a better chance of winning in the first round.
Although the coronavirus pandemic had not yet peaked, the government was desperate for the May vote to go ahead.
It eventually backed down when a junior coalition partner joined the opposition in saying the Law and Justice party was putting politics before public health.
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]]>President Trump narrowly outraised former vice president Joe Biden last month but maintains a significant cash advantage, according to new figures released Monday.
Trump, the Republican National Committee and joint fundraising committees raised $61.7 million, officials announced Monday. Biden and the Democratic National Committee trailed closely behind with $60.5 million, officials said.
But Trump, who has been raising money for his reelection since he became president, entered May with a massive war chest of $255 million in hand, officials said.
Biden and the DNC have not yet released their cash-on-hand figures. As of March 30, the two committees had $62.3 million combined in cash. The official figures will be released in federal filings May 20.
Trump, RNC and joint fundraising committees raised nearly $274 million so far in 2020. In comparison, President Barack Obama, DNC and joint fundraising committee had raised about $171 million in the first four months of 2012, federal filings show.
The amount of money raised by Trump and Biden in April each surpassed the $43.7 million haul raised in April 2012 by the Obama campaign, the DNC and the joint fundraising committee, Obama Victory Fund, filings show.
With restrictions on in-person events during the global pandemic, both parties’ presidential campaigns have relied on online fundraising in April.
Trump tapped his online fundraising juggernaut, peppering supporters with appeals for low-dollar donations throughout April. Since switching to a fully virtual campaign, the joint campaign effort between Trump and the RNC has added more than 300,000 new volunteers, officials said.
“While day-to-day life may have slowed this past month, enthusiasm and support for this President has not. With their time, resources, and ultimately their vote, Americans across this country continue to put their faith in President Trump,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
Biden’s virtual campaign has been based out of his basement studio, where he has been appearing on video streams with voters and donors and filming video messages. Amid concerns by some donors and Democratic leaders about the scale and reach of his operation, Biden has launched a major hiring spree to build his team for the general election.
Biden has held a series of virtual fundraisers along with his low-dollar online fundraising. The campaign said his average online donation in April was $32.63. April was the first month he jointly raised money with the DNC as presumptive nominee.
In an email to supporters Monday, Biden acknowledged the difficulties of raising money during the global pandemic but urged supporters to continue showing their support in May and beyond.
“I am especially humbled because I know what a sacrifice it is to give in economic times as difficult as the one we’re in,” Biden wrote in the email.
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