Poland’s conservative president, Andrzej Duda, who is nearing the end of his term, criticized the annulment of Romania’s presidential election in an interview published Thursday by the Financial Times, saying it “does not meet European democratic standards.” He is concerned that the same could happen in Poland, where the Constitutional Court must also validate the election result. Poland is holding presidential elections in May.
When asked whether the Trump administration could influence Poland’s presidential elections in May, President Duda stated that he was “convinced that the Polish people will make their own decisions.” However, he also expressed concern about a contested election result, similar to what happened in Romania, given that judges will also have to validate the Polish results.
“There is no doubt that we are currently facing a very serious constitutional crisis in Poland,” said Duda, who is in conflict with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government. “What happened in Romania is very concerning and does not meet European democratic standards,” added Andrzej Duda, as quoted by Financial Times (FT), according to News.ro.
Romania’s Constitutional Court banned far-right candidate Călin Georgescu after overturning his first-round victory due to allegations that he had benefited from an illegal campaign orchestrated by Moscow, FT notes.
The Polish president accused the European Commission of turning a blind eye to the institutional conflict in Poland after, he claims, it undertook “many actions” to bring Tusk back to power in 2023.
“The European Commission now pretends not to see this,” Duda said. “And do you know why? Because Prime Minister Tusk is a member of the same European party as the majority of the Commission members, along with its president (Ursula von der Leyen),” Duda stated, referring to the European People’s Party (EPP).
Andrzej Duda comes from the ultraconservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), which was in power for eight years until 2023 when his political opponents, the centrist liberals led by current Prime Minister Donald Tusk, took over.
PiS belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament, which also includes members of Romania’s AUR party and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party. Meanwhile, Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform is part of the EPP.
Duda cannot run for another term in the May 18 elections. The PiS-designated candidate, historian Karol Nawrocki—who is not a party member—trails in all polls behind Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the Civic Platform, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s party.