As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 12 July, in which incumbent president Andrzej Duda, running with the support of Law and Justice,[1] faced off against Civic Platform vice-chairman and Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski.

[2][3] Duda's victory marked the sixth national election in a row where the right-wing PiS party defeated the opposition centrist and center-left forces.

Many candidates,[7] constitutionalists[8] and even politicians from the ruling coalition[9] criticized the government's plan of holding the election as originally scheduled during the pandemic.

As a compromise, the Agreement political party proposed lengthening the president's term by two years, which was supported by the Minister of Health, Łukasz Szumowski.

Citizens and other officials stated their intention to file a lawsuit[17][18][19] to the prosecutor's office about the possibility of crimes being committed by the government-run Poczta Polska and by the politicians responsible for the regulation.

[31] The same day, PKW announced that "The current legal regulation deprived the National Electoral Commission of the instruments necessary to perform its duties.

"[citation needed] The movement of the election day was met with support[32][33] and opposition[34][35] from both the "anti" and "pro" Law and Justice spheres of Polish politics.

[39] Donald Tusk was widely expected to make a comeback in Polish politics and to run for President, all the more so given that his European office expired at the end of 2019.

[40][41] However, in November 2019, he announced he would not run for the Polish presidency, citing that he has "a bag of difficult, unpopular decisions since prime minister" that would burden his candidacy.

Declared, but lost at the primary convention: Declined: In December 2019, PSL chairman Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that he would be launching a campaign for president.

Declared, but lost in the primary election: [56] These following candidates made electoral comitties but failed to submit 100,000 signatures supporting their run by the 26 March deadline:[57] Duda and Trzaskowski both refused to take part in debates at each other's preferred media outlet and a proposal from Duda[59] and supported by Trzaskowski[60] to hold a joint debate hosted by TVP, Polsat and TVN was rejected by TVP Director Jacek Kurski.

[91] The Civic Platform party challenged results of the elections to the Polish Supreme Court, alleging irregularities and biased coverage by the state television.

The appeal includes complaints from 2,000 people, containing accusations of problems with voter registry, ballot papers not being sent in time as well as issues with voting abroad.

[92][93][94][better source needed] Press.pl, a media-monitoring service, found that, between 3 and 16 June, nearly 97% of Wiadomości news stories devoted to Duda were positive while almost 87% of those on Trzaskowski were negative.

[97][98] The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights investigated the election and found that it was "administered professionally despite the lack of legal clarity."

Instead, it acted as a campaign vehicle for the incumbent and frequently portrayed his main challenger as a threat to Polish values and national interests.