Duda re-elected in Poland as new EU battles loom

Duda re-elected in Poland as new EU battles loom

Polish President Andrzej Duda has won five more years in power on a deeply conservative platform after a closely fought election that is likely to deepen the country's isolation in the European Union.

Joe Davies reports.

Poland's deeply conservative president, Andrzej Duda, has won five more years in power -- and it means that country is likely going to find itself even more isolated within the European Union.

The last votes are still being counted but official results show he's taken more than 51%, giving him an unassailable lead over Warsaw's more progressive mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

The EU has had a difficult relationship with Duda since he first came to power in 2015, with divisions focusing on climate change and migration, in addition to democratic norms. He's backed by Poland's nationalist Law and Justice party.

His campaign was laced with homophobic language, attacks on private media and accusations that his rival served foreign interests instead of Poland's - accusations which Trzaskowski denied.

[Andrzej Duda saying]: "If anyone was offended by anything I did or said in the last five years, not just during the campaign, please accept my apology.

I want to assure you that I have respect for you, just like I have respect for all my compatriots, irrespective of their views.

Like I said during the campaign, there is and there must be a place for everyone under the white and red flag, our common flag and the national anthem.

And all of us should work to make sure that everyone feels there is a place for them." It wasn't too long ago that Poland had one of the most pro-EU administrations in the bloc.

And for liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, it was a narrow defeat.

He had pledged to repair Poland's relations with Europe, and make Poland a more tolerant country - with education about LGBT rights in the city's schools.

"I am convinced we will change Poland", he told his supporters on Sunday (July 12) night.

"We will continue fighting."