WARSAW — Conservative Karol Nawrocki has won Poland’s weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count.
Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.
The close race had the country on edge since a first round two weeks earlier and through the night into Monday, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
The outcome indicates that Poland can be expected to take a more nationalist path under its new president, who was backed by US President Donald Trump.
A first exit poll initially showed Trzaskowski with a slight lead over conservative historian Nawrocki, but two hours later an updated “late poll” showed Nawrocki winning 50.7%, more than Trzaskowski with 49.3%
Turnout was 72.8% — higher than the 67.3% reported in the first round on 18 May. Voting started at 7 am and ended at 9 pm.
At a conference at 6:30 pm, the chairman of the Polish National Electoral Commission said incidents had been reported during the voting, with "232 possible offences" taking place.
The runoff follows a tightly contested first round of voting on May 18, in which Trzaskowski won just over 31% and Nawrocki nearly 30%.
Though the final result was still unclear on Sunday evening with the two locked in a near dead heat, both men claimed to have won in meetings with their supporters in Warsaw.
“We won,” Trzaskowski told his supporters to chants of “Rafał, Rafał.”
“This is truly a special moment in Poland’s history. I am convinced that it will allow us to move forward and focus on the future,” Trzaskowski said. “I will be your president.”
Nawrocki, speaking to his supporters at a separate event in Warsaw, said he believed he was on track to win. “We will win and save Poland,” he said. “We must win tonight.”
The new president will have significant influence over whether Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist government can fulfill its agenda, given the presidential power to veto laws. — Euronews
