The Supreme Court of Poland on Monday upheld the reelection of President Andrzej Duda after deciding that complaints about the validity of the country's presidential election were insufficient to void the results.
The ruling paves the way for Duda to take the oath of office before both chambers of parliament on Thursday.
The court evaluated some 6,000 election complaints from voters and from the team of the candidate Duda faced in a runoff, liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. Duda won 51.03% of the vote and Trzaskowski 48.97% in the July 12 election.
Incumbent President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda smile after receiving flowers from supporters in Pultusk, Poland, Sunday, July 12, 2020. An exit poll in Poland's presidential runoff election shows a tight race that is too close to call between the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda, and the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski.(AP PhotoCzarek Sokolowski)
It found 92 of the alleged violations justified, but said the irregularities did not affect the election’s outcome. The justices said the complaints from Trzaskowski team lacked necessary evidence about the time and location of the alleged breaches.
They said the Trzaskowski team's complaint also touched on campaigning, which is beyond the bounds of an electoral protest.
Many voters also complained about being unable to vote from abroad because their ballots arrived too late.
Presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski gestures while addressing supporters at the end of the election day in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, July 12, 2020. Voting ended in Poland's razor-blade-close presidential election runoff between the conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda and liberal, pro-European Union Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski with exit polls showing the election is too close to call. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
Originally scheduled for May, the presidential election was postponed by over a month, to June 28 with a runoff two weeks later, due to the coronavirus pandemic.