WARSAW—Poland's electoral authority on Monday
officially declared conservative challenger Andrzej Duda as the
winner of Sunday's presidential election, unseating the incumbent
president and heralding a broader political recasting of the
European Union's largest emerging economy.
Mr. Duda won 51.55% of the vote, the authority said, while
President Bronislaw Komorowski won 48.45%.
Mr. Duda, a 43-year-old conservative, captured the imagination
of many voters with promises for change after eight years of rule
by the center-right camp. Mr. Komorowski, 63, initially hoped to
easily win a second term in light of opinion polls from earlier
this year that showed him well ahead, but his popularity dwindled
as the election neared.
Voter turnout topped 55%, relatively high in a country where
elections often elicit an apathetic response. Mr. Duda will be
sworn in for a five-year term on Aug. 6.
Mr. Komorowski's failed re-election campaign was marred by
gaffes, with some of his appearances giving many voters the
impression that he was out of touch with the general public.
"I was stunned when he told a young man to take a loan," said
Bogdan Zdrojewski, a member of the European Parliament from Mr.
Komorowski's own Civic Platform party, referring to the advice the
president gave when asked about low wages in Poland.
Poland's average net wage in March was $800, a level that is
both a boon to its competitiveness and a spur to Poles migrating in
search of better pay. More than two million people have emigrated
from Poland since it joined the EU in 2004, when employment
restrictions were lifted.
Mr. Duda pledged to draft laws to give bigger tax breaks to the
least affluent and reverse a recent increase in the retirement
age—proposals Mr. Komorowski eventually echoed in his
campaign despite first calling them populist.
The president-elect on Monday continued the public walks that
became the hallmark of his campaign, handing out coffee to
passersby in central Warsaw. When asked about steps to stop
migration from Poland, he said the country needed to grow faster.
The Polish economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5% in the first
quarter, compared with an EU average of 1.4%.
Mr. Duda ran as a member of the Law and Justice party, which
ruled from 2005 to 2007 in a coalition with nationalists and
populists. In line with the nonpartisan traditions of the
presidential post, he said Monday he would leave the party, whose
official line toward both EU partners and Russia is tougher than
the more accommodating policies pursued since 2007 by the
center-right camp.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sent a message to Mr.
Duda congratulating him on his victory and wishing him success.
Poland's relationship with Russia has been tense, particularly
since the separatist conflict in Ukraine, which lies between the
two countries.
During his election campaign, Mr. Duda said he would urge
Western partners to stand up to the Kremlin for its support of
separatist pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Duda has also said he wanted the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the U.S. in particular to move troops to Poland to
deter any future Russian aggression.
Mr. Duda's election will likely stiffen opposition in Poland to
adopting the euro and to the EU's plans for new targets for cuts in
carbon-dioxide emissions, which he has said would undermine the
energy policy of the coal-rich country.
Write to Martin M. Sobczyk at martin.sobczyk@wsj.com
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