Poles are voting in a presidential election seen as a tough contest between incumbent Andrzej Duda and Rafal Trzaskowski
A woman holds a banner as people gather in support of the mayor of Warsaw and the presidential candidate of the main Polish opposition centre-right Civic Platform party Rafal Trzaskowski during his election meeting in Ciechanow, Poland on July 9, 2020. that may shape the country's future relations with the European Union, which have been frayed by the bloc's concerns over the rule of law.
Duda has said the relationship with Washington is "the most important" for his country and has called the EU, which Poland joined in 2004, "an imaginary community from which we have little to gain". Asked which foreign capital he would visit first if elected president, he has said he would first invite the presidents of France and Germany to Poland.Poland has prioritised arms purchases from the United States throughout Duda's presidency, buying F-35 fighter jets, Patriot missiles and Black Hawk helicopters.Trzaskowski has said the modernisation of Poland's armed forces has been "frozen" under Duda, and is critical of what he calls "purges" in the army.
Trzaskowski has criticised the "erosion of the state, the dismantling of public institutions and the trampling of the constitution" under Duda.During the campaign, Duda has also used anti-gay rhetoric to present himself as a defender of traditional Catholic family values, comparing "LGBT ideology" to a new form of communist indoctrination.
In the first round on June 28, Duda came first with 43.5 percent and Trzaskowski second with 30.4 percent.
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