Poland is set for a second round of elections after no single candidate garnered over 50 percent of the votes in yesterday’s presidential election. Interest in the election was at a record high, with broadcaster TVP Info reporting over 62% turnout across Poland.

Incumbent President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, garnered nearly 43% percent of the vote on Sunday, according to exit polls released just after voting ended at 21:00. Centrist Rafał Trzaskowski, a former government minister and current Mayor of Warsaw, won just over 30%, according to surveys by Ipsos.

The two frontrunners were followed by celebrity journalist Szymon Hołownia with 14%, far-right hopeful Krzysztof Bosak with roughly 7%, and leftist Robert Biedroń at around 3%, according to exit polls.

Duda and Trzaskowski will now face each other in a second round of voting on July 12, if the exit poll numbers hold up; official election results are expected to be announced over the next few days.

Source: Radio Poland, PAP

A record number of Poles abroad voted by mail in yesterday’s election, which was for many the only option for participation due to local lockdown restrictions.

Before the election, nearly 400,000 (387,000) Poles living abroad had registered to vote by absentee ballot, according to a Polish deputy foreign minister, with the largest number of ballots requested in the countries of Belgium, Sweden, the US, and the UK.

The largest number of those voting yesterday were Poles living in the UK, who account for nearly one-third of all Poles registered to vote abroad. Unlike previous elections, Polish voters in the UK could only vote by correspondence due to the current lockdown measures in effect.

According to the Polish Embassy in London, as of Saturday evening, over 111,000 ballots had already been returned, representing 86% of the total ballots sent out. Nearly one million (900,000) people of Polish citizenship were living in the UK as of May 2019 according to the UK ONS statistics office.

Source: PAP

Poland’s CD Projekt RED studio, hailed as Europe’s most valuable games company, has announced the production of a Netflix anime series based on their highly-anticipated game Cyberpunk 2077.

According to a statement released by the company, the new anime series will be “a standalone, 10-episode story about a street kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future.”

The series, entitled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, is in production for a 2022 release, with the video game set to premiere November 19th of this year.

CD Projekt RED rose to global prominence based on the success of their hit video game series “The Witcher,” based on the books by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. A Netflix series based on the books premiered to much acclaim last year, with a second season set to be released in 2021 after production was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Radio Poland

75 years ago today Radio Gdańsk aired its first live broadcast covering the annual Sea Festival in Gdynia, with regular broadcasts beginning on September 1, 1945.

Radio Gdańsk was the first and only Polish radio station in the area at the time and was initially broadcast from a makeshift tent studio on the top of Gradowa Hill. As it was not possible to record broadcasts, all programs and updates were broadcast live.

In celebration of its 75th birthday, Radio Gdańsk will be airing a series of special programs throughout the day, including interviews with a variety of current and former employees along with historic programs from the archives such as notable ceremonies, concerts, and sporting events. In addition to good memories and music, the studio will also be giving away gifts for listeners, so stay tuned to 103.7.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Weather

Monday will be overcast and humid with occasional rain showers throughout the day. Temperatures will peak around a high of 20°C, or 68°F, dropping slightly overnight to 13°C or 56°F. Sunshine and warmer temps are expected to return tomorrow with rain again in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

EP/ako