Right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins after close race, official results show
The populist-right opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), has won Poland’s presidential election, defeating his pro-European rival Rafał Trzaskowski, in a nail-bitingly close contest.
Official results showed Nawrocki took 50.89% of votes in the runoff, with Trzaskowski on 49.11%.
Nawrocki’s victory is a major blow for the coalition government led by Donald Tusk and is expected to prolong the current political deadlock in the country as well as complicate the country’s position in Europe.
The results comes after a dramatic turnaround given the first exit poll published just as the polls closed had suggested a narrow win for Trzaskowski by 0.6pp, prompting him to declare victory.
Nawrocki did not concede, saying he remained confident he would win when all the votes were counted. “We will win and save Poland,” he said. “We must win tonight.”
During a bitterly fought and often bad-tempered campaign in recent weeks, the two men have offered very different visions of Poland, and the result of the race will have enormous implications for the country’s political future, given the president’s ability to veto government legislation.
Key events
President Andrzej Duda, a conservative like Nawrocki, has thanked voters for taking part in the election and congratulated his successor. In a post on X, he wrote:
THANK YOU! For participating in the presidential elections. For the turnout. For fulfilling your civic duty. For taking responsibility for Poland. Congratulations to the Winner! Stay strong, POLAND!
Who is Karol Nawrocki?
Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki is a former amateur boxer with a particular interest in the criminal underworld. Here’s more from AFP:
The 42-year-old Nawrocki has been endorsed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.
The party is closely allied with outgoing President Andrzej Duda – who has publicly backed Nawrocki – and is a long-standing rival of the ruling Civic Coalition.
Nawrocki campaigned under the slogan “Poland first, Poles first”.
While he has pledged to continue Poland’s support for neighbouring Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, he has denounced the benefits given to war refugees.
He said in a campaign video in April that “social benefits will be above all for Poles” and that “in queues for doctors and clinics, Polish citizens must have priority”.
In May, he claimed Ukraine “has not shown gratitude for what Poles have done” and accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of “insolence”.
He opposes Ukraine’s bid to join Nato and is also an admirer of Donald Trump and has said Poland should focus on shaping and leading Europe’s relations with the US president.
What does Nawrocki’s win mean for domestic politics?
Jakub Krupa
While the role of the Polish president is largely ceremonial, it carries some influence over foreign and defence policy and a critical power to veto new legislation. This can only be overturned with a 60% majority in parliament, which the current government, led by Donald Tusk, does not have.
At stake is whether Tusk’s government will be able to make progress on its electoral promises on the rule of law and social issues, including abortion and LGBTQ rights, after 18 months of difficult cohabitation with the opposition president, Andrzej Duda.
Nawrocki’s win is expected to prolong the deadlock, making it difficult if not impossible for the government to pass any big reforms before the 2027 parliamentary election.
“Tusk knows the stakes and that if Nawrocki wins, he’s got a lame-duck administration for the next couple of years. And it will be worse than with Duda as Nawrocki will come in fresh, with a new mandate from what effectively turned into a referendum on the government,” Prof Aleks Szczerbiak, who teaches east and central European politics at the University of Sussex, said prior to the election.
Right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins after close race, official results show
The populist-right opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), has won Poland’s presidential election, defeating his pro-European rival Rafał Trzaskowski, in a nail-bitingly close contest.
Official results showed Nawrocki took 50.89% of votes in the runoff, with Trzaskowski on 49.11%.
Nawrocki’s victory is a major blow for the coalition government led by Donald Tusk and is expected to prolong the current political deadlock in the country as well as complicate the country’s position in Europe.
The results comes after a dramatic turnaround given the first exit poll published just as the polls closed had suggested a narrow win for Trzaskowski by 0.6pp, prompting him to declare victory.
Nawrocki did not concede, saying he remained confident he would win when all the votes were counted. “We will win and save Poland,” he said. “We must win tonight.”
During a bitterly fought and often bad-tempered campaign in recent weeks, the two men have offered very different visions of Poland, and the result of the race will have enormous implications for the country’s political future, given the president’s ability to veto government legislation.
