2015 Polish presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Poland on 10 and 24 May 2015. In the first round of voting Law and Justice (PiS) candidate, lawyer and Member of the European Parliament, Andrzej Duda received the greatest number of votes with a share of 34.76%, followed by incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski (with 33.77%), who ran as an independent with the endorsement of the Civic Platform (PO),[1] which he had renounced his membership in after winning the 2010 elections. Independent candidate Paweł Kukiz came third with 20.80% of the votes. As no candidate had received more than 50% of the votes cast, a second round was held on 24 May between the two highest-placed candidates, Duda and Komorowski. This round was won by Duda with 51.5% of the votes, to Komorowski's 48.5%.

2015 Polish presidential election
10 May 2015 (first round)
24 May 2015 (second round)
Turnout48.96% (first round)
55.34% (second round)
 
Nominee Andrzej Duda Bronisław Komorowski
Party PiS Independent[lower-alpha 1]
Popular vote 8,630,627 8,112,311
Percentage 51.55% 48.45%
Results of the second round
President before election

Bronisław Komorowski
Independent

 Elected President

Andrzej Duda
PiS

Electoral system

The president was elected directly by the people to serve for five years, and can be re-elected only once. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the president had to be elected by an absolute majority of valid votes; if no candidate succeeds in passing this threshold, a second round of voting is held with the two candidates who received the largest and second largest number of votes respectively.

In order to be registered to contest the elections, candidates had to be a Polish citizen, at least 35 years old on the day of the first round of the election, and have collected at least 100,000 voters' signatures.

According to the article 28, the day of the election had to fall on a Sunday between 100 and 75 days before the end of the term of the incumbent. As the term of Bronisław Komorowski would officially end on 6 August 2015, the first round had to occur between 27 April and 22 May, so that the possible dates were theoretically either 3, 10, or 17 May, though in practice only the latter two were realistic possibilities as the first fell on Constitution Day, a national holiday.[2]

This was the first presidential election carried out following changes in 2011.[3]

Candidates

In total 23 candidates registered with the State Electoral Commission.[4] Only 11 submitted the required 100,000 signatures supporting their candidacy before the 26 March deadline.:[5]

Rejected candidates

The registered candidates who failed to submit 100,000 signatures supporting their run for office were:

  • Artur Głowacki, an entrepreneur[6]
  • Anna Grodzka, the first transgender member of the Polish parliament,[7] The Greens party candidate[8]
  • Zdzisław Jankowski, deputy leader of Patriotic Poland party, former member of Sejm[9]
  • Dariusz Łaska, a candidate representing a minor NGO Patriotic Community of Solidary Deliberation.[10]
  • Stanisław Majdański, former senator, candidate of agrarian conservative Ojcowizna party.[6]
  • Balli Marzec, ethnic Kazakh activist and publicist, candidate of NGO Kazakh Community.[11]
  • Kornel Morawiecki, democratic activist in time of PRL, founder and leader of Fighting Solidarity, candidate in 2010 election.[12]
  • Zenon Nowak, candidate of party Brave Dad protecting rights of fathers.[13]
  • Wanda Nowicka, current Deputy Marshall of the Sejm, the candidate of the social-democratic party Labour United.[14]
  • Iwona Piątek, leader of Women's Party[15]
  • Adam Słomka, a former member of Sejm and an anti-communist activist[16]

Among those who publicly announced their candidacy, but failed to register, were:

  • Waldemar Deska, a musician, former member of reggae band Daab, the candidate of the Libertarian Party,[17] eventually withdrew his candidacy and expressed his support for Janusz Korwin-Mikke.[18]
  • Włodzimierz Zydorczak, businessman and candidate of association Obywatelska RP.[19] had his application rejected by the State Electoral Commission[4]

Campaign
Andrzej Duda during his campaign in Prudnik

Television debates

One debate took place before the first round, on 5 May, chaired by Krzysztof Ziemiec and aired on TVP 1.[20] Ten candidates attended the debate, while President Komorowski declined to appear.[21]

Two debates took place before the second round, the first chaired by Dorota Gawryluk and by Krzysztof Ziemiec on 17 May,[22] and the second on 21 May by TVN, chaired by Monika Olejnik, Bogdan Rymanowski and Justyna Pochanke. In both of these, the candidates also had the opportunity to pose questions to the other.[23] Komorowski was generally regarded by the Polish press and political analysts to have won the first of the second-round debates.[24] The second debate was considered to be less decisive.[25][26][27]

Opinion polls

Nearly all opinion polls taken before the first round of the election predicted President Komorowski would receive the largest vote share in the first round, with some polls taken in late 2014 and early 2015 suggesting he was on track for an outright win that would avoid a runoff election.[28][29]

Polls were closer in the second round, with most predicting a narrow Duda victory.[30] At least one late poll showed Komorowski pulling ahead, but just slightly.[31]

First round
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Undecided Others Lead
Komorowski
IN		 Duda
PiS		 Ogórek
IN		 Jarubas
PSL		 Palikot
TR		 Korwin-Mikke
KORWiN		 Braun
IN		 Grodzka
Greens		 Kowalski
RN		 Kukiz
IN		 Wilk
KNP		 Nowicka
UP
EXIT POLLS:
IPSOS		 10 May 2015 - 32.2% 34.8% 2.4% 1.6% 1.5% 4.4% 1.1% - 0.8% 20.3% 0.6% - 0.3% 2.6%
Election day (10 May)
IBRiS 8 May 2015 7.5% 39% 31% 3% 2% 1% 3% 1% - 1% 19% 0% - 0% 8%
TNS Poland 6–7 May 2015 13% 35% 27% 3% 2% 1% 3% 1% - 0% 15% 0% - 0% 8%
Millward Brown 7 May 2015 3% 39% 27% 4% 2% 3% 5% 1% - 0% 13% 0% - 0% 12%
IBRiS Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine 6 May 2015 5% 39.7% 29% 2.4% 3.2% 1.7% 4.2% 0.8% - 0.7% 14.3% 0% - 0.1% 10.7%
Pressmix 3 May 2015 5.1% 33.3% 33.3% 3.3% 1.8% 0.9% 6.6% 0.8% - 0.6% 13.7% 0.5% - 0.1% Tie
Millward Brown 13 April 2015 7% 45% 28% 4% 2% 2% 6% - - - 6% - - - 17%
TNS Poland 7–8 April 2015 13% 46% 24% 3% 1% 2% 4% - - - 6% - - - 22%
Millward Brown 30 March 2015 9% 42% 26% 7% 2% 3% 6% - - 1% 4% - - - 16%
IBRiS 27–28 March 2015 11.1% 40.7% 26.6% 4.9% 5.1% 2.7% 4.8% 0.4% - 0.4% 3.3% 0% - - 14.1%
100,000 supporting signatures deadline (26 March)
TNS Poland 13–18 March 2015 21% 41% 24% 6% 2% 1% 2% - - - 2% - 1% - 17%
Millward Brown Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 16 March 2015 2% 46% 31% 4% 1% 4% 4% - 0% 1% 5% - 1% 1% 15%
PPW 9–15 March 2015 - 48% 30% 4% 2% 6% 4% - 1% 1% 2% 1% 0% 1% 18%
IBRiS 13 March 2015 12% 46% 26% 5% 4% 3% 3% - - - 1% - - - 20%
TNS Poland 10–11 March 2015 12% 45% 27% 5% 1% 1% 4% <1% 1% <1% 2% <1% 1% 1% 18%
CBOS 5–11 March 2015 18% 52% 19% 3% 1% 2% 1% - <0.5% <0.5% 2% - <0.5% 2% 33%
PPW 2–8 March 2015 - 48% 28% 3% 2% 7% 4% - 1% 1% 4% - 1% 1% 20%
Millward Brown 2 March 2015 2% 46% 27% 8% 3% 2% 4% - 1% 1% 4% - 0% 2% 19%
PPW 23–28 Feb 2015 - 50% 28% 4% 3% 5% 3% - 1% 1% 3% - 1% 1% 22%
Ipsos 25–26 Feb 2015 3.2% 49.7% 28% 5.7% 2% 1.4% 3.8% - - 0.7% 3.5% 0.3% - 0.5% 21.7%
PPW 16–22 Feb 2015 - 51% 25% 4% 3% 6% 2% - 1% 1% 5% - 1% 1% 26%
TNS Poland 13–18 Feb 2015 22% 47% 17% 6% 4% 1% 1% - 1% - 1% - - - 30%
Estymator 15–17 Feb 2015 - 51% 25% 8% 4% 2% 3% 0% 1% 0% 5% 0% - - 26%
Millward Brown 16 Feb 2015 5% 47% 24% 7% 2% 6% 3% – 1% 0% 4% - - - 23%
GfK Polonia 12–16 Feb 2015 14% 52% 20% 4% 2% 2% 2% – - - 3% - - - 32%
IBRiS 12–13 Feb 2015 9% 49% 26% 5% 2% 2% 2% – 1% <1% 3% <1% - - 23%
CBOS 5–11 Feb 2015 8% 63% 15% 3% 2% 1% 3% – 1% - - - - 4% 48%
TNS Poland 4–5 Feb 2015 11% 53% 19% 5% 2% 2% 2% – 1% 1% - - - 4%e 34%
IBRiS Archived 22 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine 3 Feb 2015 - 55% 25% 5% 1% 2% 4% – - - - - - - 30%
Millward Brown 25 Jan 2015 4% 62% 18% 8% 1%a 2% 3% – - 1% - - - - 44%
TNS Poland 16–21 Jan 2015 24% 52% 12% 5% - 2% 3% – - 0% - - - - 40%
Ariadna Archived 6 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine 16–20 Jan 2015 - 48% 17% 7% 2% 7% 7% – - 2% - - - 10%d 31%
GfK Polonia 15–18 Jan 2015 20% 55% 14% 4% - 2% 3% – - - - - - - 41%
TNS Poland 12–13 Jan 2015 11% 56% 19% 6% 1% 2% 4% – - - - - - 1% 37%
Millward Brown 12 Jan 2015 4% 65% 21% 6% - 1% 3% – - - - - - - 44%
TNS Poland 10–11 Dec 2014 13% 56% 17% - - 2% 5% – - - - - - 7%b 39%
IBRiS 4 Dec 2014 5% 55.6% 23.1% - - 1.3% 4.8% 0.7% - - - - - 11.5%c 32.5%
Notes

Second round
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Abstention Undecided
Komorowski
IN		 Duda
PiS
Millward Brown 20 May 2015 - 47% 45% 8%
Estymator 18 May 2015 - 48% 52% -
Millward Brown 18 May 2015 - 47% 44% 9%
IBRiS 14 May 2015 - 43.2% 48% 6.9%
Millward Brown 14 May 2015 - 40% 44% 15%
Estymator 13–14 May 2015 - 46% 54% -
Election day (10 May)
Millward Brown 7 May 2015 - 54% 41% 5%
Millward Brown 13 April 2015 - 55% 40% 5%
Millward Brown 30 March 2015 - 52% 41% 7%
Millward Brown Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine 16 March 2015 4% 53% 37% 6%
PPW 2–8 March 2015 - 62% 38% -
Millward Brown 16 Feb 2015 10% 59% 27% 4%
CBOS 5–11 Feb 2015 7% 65% 19% 9%

Results

Duda took a narrow first-place finish over Komorowski in the first round of the election on 10 May 2015, forcing the incumbent into a runoff. The result was described as a surprise, as the Komorowski camp and many political observers expected him to perform better or perhaps win outright.[28][30][32][33] Paweł Kukiz, who finished third in the first round of voting, declined to endorse either Duda or Komorowski, instead offering to moderate a debate between the two candidates.[34] Komorowski declined to participate, and the debate was never held.[35]

In the second round of the election on 24 May, Duda unseated Komorowski in what was until 2020 the closest presidential election since Poland became a democracy.[36][37] He defeated the incumbent by a margin of approximately three percentage points, according to official results.[38]

Results of the first round
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Andrzej DudaLaw and Justice5,179,09234.768,630,62751.55
Bronisław KomorowskiIndependent (PO)5,031,06033.778,112,31148.45
Paweł KukizIndependent3,099,07920.80
Janusz Korwin-MikkeKORWiN486,0843.26
Magdalena OgórekIndependent (SLD)353,8832.38
Adam JarubasPolish People's Party238,7611.60
Janusz PalikotYour Movement211,2421.42
Grzegorz BraunIndependent124,1320.83
Marian KowalskiNational Movement77,6300.52
Jacek WilkCongress of the New Right68,1860.46
Paweł TanajnoDirect Democracy29,7850.20
Total14,898,934100.0016,742,938100.00
Valid votes14,898,93499.1716,742,93898.53
Invalid/blank votes124,9520.83250,2311.47
Total votes15,023,886100.0016,993,169100.00
Registered voters/turnout30,688,57048.9630,709,28155.34
Source: PKW, PKW

Reactions

Komorowski said after the release of the exit poll that it was important to respect the result of the vote.[36] He conceded defeat that evening and wished Duda "a successful presidency".[39]

Duda hailed his victory as a vote for change.[39] His campaign manager said the election showed that the Law and Justice bloc could win parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn,[40] something that the party achieved.

Many world leaders, including United States President Barack Obama,[41] German Chancellor Angela Merkel,[42] and Russian President Vladimir Putin,[43] congratulated Duda on his victory.

See also

Notes
  1. The President of Poland traditionally resigns from party membership after taking office. Although Komorowski was officially an independent, his campaign was endorsed and funded by the Civic Platform.

References
  1. "Platforma "murem" za Bronisławem Komorowskim. Premier Kopacz apeluje: Polacy, wybierzcie właściwie" [Civic Platform fully supports Bronisław Komorowski. Premier Kopacz appeals: Poles, make the right choice]. Polskie Radio. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. "Termin wyborów prezydenckich w 2015 roku".
  3. "Sejm RP uchwalił Kodeks wyborczy zawierający propozycje ISP". Instytut Spraw Publicznych. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  4. "Wykaz złożonych zawiadomień o utworzeniu komitetu wyborczego w związku z wyborami Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. "Wykaz kandydatów". Wybory Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2015. Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. "Wybory prezydenckie 2015: PKW zarejestrowała 23 komitety wyborcze kandydatów na prezydenta. Jakie?". Portal Samorządowy.
  7. Poland's first transsexual and gay MPs take seats in parliament The Guardian, 8 November 2011
  8. "Anna Grodzka dla WP: tak, będę kandydować na prezydenta". wp.pl. Wirtualna Polska.
  9. "Kolejne zgłoszenie komitetu kandydata na prezydenta". onet.pl. Onet. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. "PKW zarejestrowała kolejne trzy komitety wyborcze". wp.pl. Wirtualna Polska. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  11. "Kazaszka Balli Marzec chce być prezydentem". Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  12. "Kornel Morawiecki - kandydat na prezydenta". radiownet.pl. Radio Wnet. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  13. "Świnoujścianin Zenon Nowak kandydatem na prezydenta". iswinoujscie.pl. iŚwinoujście.pl. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  14. "Wanda Nowicka też wystartuje w wyborach prezydenckich". polskieradio.pl. Polskie Radio. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
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  21. "Candidates debate on TV prior to presidential elections". Radio Poland. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  22. "Starcie kandydatów na prezydenta w debacie wyborczej" (in Polish). Blasting News. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  23. Skolimowski, Piotr (20 May 2015). "Polish Ballot Too Close to Call as Presidential Debate Looms". Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  24. Skolimowski, Piotr (17 May 2015). "Polish President Revives Election Campaign With Debate Win". Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  25. "Duda and Komorowski participate in TV debate". Radio Poland. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  26. "Polish president, challenger face off in last debate". The Washington Post. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  27. Skolimowski, Piotr (21 May 2015). "No Knockout in Polish Presidential Debate as Election Nears". Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  28. Cienski, Jan (10 May 2015). "A Polish stunner". Politico. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
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  33. "Poles Hand President Komorowski Shock Defeat in First-Round". Bloomberg. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
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  36. "Andrzej Duda wins Poland's presidential election – late poll results". The Warsaw Voice. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
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  38. "Conservative Duda wins Poland's presidential vote". Al Jazeera. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  39. "Poland election: Komorowski concedes defeat to Duda". Dnevi avaz. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  40. Krafczyk, Eva (25 May 2015). "Polish right-wing party eyes fall elections after Duda's victory". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  41. "White House congratulates President-elect Duda". Radio Poland. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  42. "Kanclerz Angela Merkel, prezydent Niemiec i szef PE gratulują Andrzejowi Dudzie". PolskieRadio.pl (in Polish). 25 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
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