Incumbent President Andrzej Duda has been....>

POLAND: Incumbent President Andrzej Duda has been confirmed as the winner in the

second round of the country's closely-contested presidential election held on

July 12. 

- Duda, an independent supported by the governing right-wing Law and Justice

Party (PiS), defeated challenger, Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski from the

centre-right liberal Civic Platform, by a margin of 51.2% to 48.8%. 

- A second term for Duda will come as a relief to the gov't of PM Mateusz

Morawiecki. The president has a veto over legislation, meaning a change in

leadership could have made it harder for the gov't to pass controversial

legislation.

- Duda's win points towards a continued decline in relations between Warsaw and

Brussels. The EU has criticised the gov't of Poland for implementing legislation

it says impede the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the

rights of LGBT people.