Supporters of presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski wait for his speech at the end of the election day in Warsaw, Poland, July 12, 2020. /AP
Poland's main opposition group Civic Coalition and the campaign of losing candidate Rafal Trzaskowski filed complaints to the Supreme Court on Thursday about the results of the presidential election.
The complaints contained hundreds of incidents that, according to the opposition, have given the winner, incumbent President Andrzej Duda, an unfair advantage. Duda won the runoff election Sunday by a slender margin, gaining 51.03 percent of the vote over Trzaskowski's 48.97 percent.
Duda, backed by the populist right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, has been Poland's president since August 2015. Aiming to continue his controversial constitutional reforms, Duda has been at odds with the European Union.
On the other hand, Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, is regarded as a pro-EU figure who wants to heal relations with the bloc.
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Polish President Andrzej Duda attends a meeting with local residents following his victory in a presidential election in Odrzywol, Poland, July 13, 2020. /Reuters
The main complaints concerned what the opposition said unfair involvement of state institutions in the campaign. "These elections were not fair, because fair elections mean equal treatment of candidates," said Barbara Nowacka, a Civic Coalition MP during a press conference.
The Civic Coalition is made up of the main opposition party Civic Platform (PO) and several minor parties. The PO and some observers also accused TVP public television of bias.
"We have asked for the election to be declared invalid," PO leader Borys Budka told reporters.
"This election was neither equal nor universal. It was dishonest," Budka said, adding that "the whole apparatus of the state broke the law" by supporting Duda.
The appeal includes complaints about irregularities from 2,000 people, including problems with voter registration, ballot papers not being sent out in time and issues with voting abroad.
"Anyone can appeal," said Elzbieta Witek, head of the Sejm, or lower house of parliament, and a member of the governing PiS party. "These appeals will be examined but I do not think that any kind of appeal can impact the result of the vote."
Observing body of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has said the voting was organized professionally on the whole.
The Supreme Court has 21 days to review all those complaints and rule whether any of them undermines the validity of the election.
(With input from Xinhua, AFP)