Polish President Andrzej Duda officially begins 2nd term

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Polish President Andrzej Duda was sworn in for a second term in office on Thursday and promised to deliver pledges to strengthen "the family, security, work, investment and dignity."

Duda, a member of Poland's ruling conservative coalition, took the oath of office during a joint session of the National Assembly in Warsaw, three weeks after securing 51% of the vote in a presidential run-off against opposition-backed challenger and Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.

In an address to lawmakers, Duda said Issues of family, security, work, investment and dignity are "the five Polish issues that symbolize Poland, which is capable of combining tradition with modernity, because these two principles are not mutually exclusive, but complement each other."

"As I promised, I will be a president of Polish affairs."

Duda promised to further lower unemployment, which at 3% in June was the second-lowest rate in the 27-nation European Union.

"For many years, high unemployment was a real curse in Poland," he said. "That's what killed the dreams of millions of Poles and forced them to emigrate for financial reasons.

"Today, in the face of the crisis evoked by the pandemic, we have to do everything possible to ensure that situation doesn't happen again."

Poland reported 726 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.

An independent candidate aligned with the ruling Law and Justice Party, Duda ran a campaign focused on social issues, such as suppressing LGBT rights, that sharply divided Poland along ideological lines.

His swearing-in ceremony was boycotted by former presidents Lech Wałesa and Bronisław Komorowski, as well several former prime ministers. Opponents argue the election was not fairly run.

Poland's largest opposition party, the centrist Civic Platform, petitioned the Polish Supreme Court two weeks ago to annul the results over what it said was blatant partisanship by public broadcaster TVP.

The European elections watchdog, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, agreed that TVP was used as a campaign tool for Duda. A special panel of Poland's high court said Monday, however, that the election results are valid.