The Polish President, Andrzej Duda, has been announced the winner of the country’s recent presidential election re-run, narrowly defeating opposition candidate and liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, by gaining 51.21% of the votes.

Making the announcement on Monday morning, the Electoral Commission revealed that while it was unsure of when complete results would be available as some polling units are yet to submit their counts, over 99% of the votes have already been counted, and the results are not expected to change upon final tally. The Commission also announced a record-breaking voter turnout with 68.2% Polish electorates turning up to cast their votes – the highest of any presidential poll since the first major Polish elections in 1989.

What the Result Says

According to the Commission, Duda, who ran with the support of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), won 51.21% of the vote, while opposition candidate and socially liberal opposition candidate, Rafal Trzakowski got 48.79%.

Both candidates had run on opposing ideals with Duda campaigning on traditional values that condemned LGBTQ+ rights, as well as reproductive rights for women. Trzaskowski who ran under the centrist opposition Civic Platform party that was in power from 2007 to 2015, opposed Duda’s stance on issues relating to LGBTQ+ and other minority rights.

Both Candidates React

Speaking on his recent win, Duda on Sunday went on to thank all his “compatriots who voted in this election, those who made a lot of effort to be able to cast their ballots.”

“I thank you all from the bottom of my heart because such a turnout is a beautiful reflection of our democracy,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Civic Platform party informed Reuters of its intention to collect information on voting irregularities it noticed after the polls closed on Sunday, including reports of Poles abroad who did not receive their voting packages early enough to take part in the election.