Trump congratulates Polish President Duda on winning second-term

US President Donald Trump on July 14 congratulated Andrzej Duda for winning the second term as Poland's president after a tough race defeating his opponent Rafal Trzaskowski on Monday. Trump in his tweet congratulated his 'friend' Duda on his historic re-election and added that he is looking forward to continuing work on important issues, including defence, trade, energy, and telecommunications security. 

Read: Voting Results In Poland Confirm Duda In Presidential Runoff

Read: Trump, Polish Counterpart Duda Discuss Sending US Troops To Poland From Germany

Recently, Duda met US President Donald Trump in Washington, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Trump since the global lockdowns due to coronavirus pandemic. Duda’s visit to the US was seen as an attempt to boost his chances of re-election. According to Polish media reports, Trump could offer 2,000 US troops to Poland, double the number initially agreed in June 2019. 

Read: Poland: Incumbent Duda Holds Slim Lead Against Trzaskowski In Presidential Vote

According to reports, Duda, who has served as president of Poland since August 6, 2015, secured over 51 percent of the vote, while his rival, a liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski secured over 48 percent of the vote. Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) won the election on homophobic and anti-Semitic sentiments and is expected to bring more conservative reforms in his second term as Poland's president. 

Read: Near Final Results Show Polish President Duda Wins 2nd Term

Record turnout

The election in Poland took place amid the coronavirus pandemic, which prior to the voting opposition and health experts were denouncing in fear that it could trigger a second wave in the country. However, the turnout in the election was very high at 68.1 percent voters came out to vote on July 12, which was originally planned for May.