Brussels
13 July 2020
Polish citizens were called to the voting booths on July 12th for the second round of the presidential election. The election culminated in a face off between Andrzej Duda, the ultra-conservative from the Law and Justice Party (PiS, member of ECR) and Rafał Trzaskowski from the Civic Platform (EPP). Rafał Trzaskowski, representing a chance for Poland to reverse its trend of democratic backsliding and mend its relation with the European Union, received the support from Zieloni, the Polish green party, in the second round of the election.
Unfortunately, and despite an extremely tight second round, Rafał Trzaskowski didn’t manage to win the election. While fully acknowledging the democratic legitimacy of the results, the European Green Party finds that such a tight result is an encouraging sign for a more democratic Poland, especially considering the politically uneven playing field faced by Rafał Trzaskowski's campaign.
Thomas Waitz, co-chair of the European Green Party and MEP comments:
“Yesterday’s results are particularly worrying as the party in power will most likely continue the democratic backsliding we have witnessed for several years now. Poland must abide by European democratic and rule of law standards.
The tight result and the youth vote in particular show that there is a strong desire for change in Poland. We will continue supporting the Polish Greens to ensure Poland can become a country where women can exercise fully the right to decide over their own body and where the LGBTI community is not discriminated against.”
Małgorzata Tracz, co-leader of Zieloni (Polish Greens, members of the EGP), comments:
“The very close result is a glimmer of hope for Poland, yet it was insufficient. We are currently extremely worried for the LGBTI community who has been under attack all over Poland in large part because of the actions of PiS. It is equally worrying that the current ruling party shows no sign of interest in developing any form of relevant and meaningful climate and energy policy.”
END
Valentin Dupouey
Head of the Communication Unit / Press Officer
E valentin.dupouey@europeangreens.eu
T +32 (0) 485 93 99 26
European Green Party
Rue Wiertz 31, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
www.europeangreens.eu
