Poland heads to runoff between pro-EU Trzaskowski and Eurosceptic Nawrocki

Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly led Poland’s presidential election on May 18, according to exit polls, but failed to secure an outright victory. He will face conservative Karol Nawrocki in a second-round runoff on June 1.

Trzaskowski, a senior figure in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party, won 30.8% of the vote, the exit poll showed, according to BBC. Nawrocki, a historian backed by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, came in second with 29.1%, setting the stage for a closely contested runoff as no candidate among the 13 contenders passed the 50% threshold.

Speaking to supporters at a rally in Sandomierz, southern Poland, Trzaskowski said: "We’re going to win," but acknowledged that victory would require "a lot of work and great determination." He added, "I’m convinced that all Poland will win."

Trzaskowski has pledged to work with Tusk’s coalition government to liberalize Poland’s strict abortion laws and to push forward long-stalled judicial reforms, which were previously blocked under the PiS-led government.

Despite leading the polls in the lead-up to the vote, Trzaskowski underperformed expectations, which had placed him 4–6 points ahead of Nawrocki, according to BBC. His campaign now faces the challenge of consolidating centrist and center-left support, including from junior coalition parties such as the Left and the conservative Third Way.

Nawrocki, relatively unknown nationally before being endorsed by the PiS party, has seen his profile rise throughout the campaign. Addressing his supporters in Gdansk, he warned that Tusk must be stopped from gaining "total power in Poland." He urged voters who backed far-right candidates Slawomir Mentzen (15.4%) and Grzegorz Braun (6.2%) to rally behind him in the second round to "save Poland" from Tusk’s influence.

While Poland’s presidency is largely ceremonial, the role carries veto power. With Tusk’s coalition lacking the parliamentary majority to override a presidential veto, the outcome of the runoff will determine whether the government can move forward with key reforms.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk