Although the president of Poland has limited executive power, Sunday's election is almost like a crossroads. A victory for incumbent President Andrzej Duda would further strengthen the ruling party's Law and Justice (PiS) position and potentially worsen relations with the EU.

Duda is close to the PiS ruling party and is expected to approve further reforms of the judiciary, reforms that would strengthen the political governance of the country's courts according to the EU.

Will veto

The challenger, Warzawa's Liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, has instead opted for an EU-friendly message with promises to veto PiS legal reforms, which he said would undermine democracy in Poland.

Law and Justice have dominated Polish politics for several years and implemented major changes in the justice system, but also increased control of the media. If Trzaskowski were to win Sunday's election, he will not be able to roll back that development, but with an upper house dominated by the opposition, the chances of breaking Pi's dominance are greater.

"Year of polarization"

The polling stations already opened at 7 and closes at 21, when the results of a poll poll are also expected. Despite the ongoing pandemic, 64.5 percent of the country's voting rights participated in the first round of elections. Voter Adam Schulz believes that an explanation may be the major gaps in opinion in society.

- Years of polarization mean that more and more people want to express their opinion. Therefore, I think the interest is greater. There is no dialogue between the two sides, he told Reuters news agency.