In a closely contested election, liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is leading in Poland’s presidential race, sparking a potential second round against conservative historian Karol Nawrocki. With no candidate securing over 50% of the vote, the outcome hangs in the balance.
Warsaw’s Presidential Election: Narrow Victory for Liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski
Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, has won a narrow victory in Poland‘s presidential election, according to an exit poll released on Sunday night. However, due to none of the 13 candidates winning more than 50% of the vote, a second-round run-off between Trzaskowski and conservative historian Karol Nawrocki is now expected.
Rafal Trzaskowski is a Polish politician serving as the Mayor of Warsaw since 2018.
He previously served as the Minister of Science and Higher Education from 2015 to 2016.
Born on October 1, 1972, in Krakow, Poland, Trzaskowski graduated from Jagiellonian University with a degree in law.
He has been involved in Polish politics for over two decades, holding various positions within the Civic Platform party.
The Candidates’ Visions
Trzaskowski, a deputy leader of prime minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Platform (PO) party, has pledged to cooperate with Tusk’s coalition to liberalise the country’s strict abortion law and accelerate reform of the Polish judiciary. He aims to bring about greater transparency and accountability in government.
Nawrocki, on the other hand, is a conservative historian who was chosen by the Law and Justice (PiS) party as its candidate. Nawrocki has called for stopping Tusk from gaining total power in Poland and has appealed to supporters of far-right candidates to ‘save Poland‘ from his coalition.
A Second Round Looms
The second-round run-off between Trzaskowski and Nawrocki is expected on June 1st. Trzaskowski will need to win the votes of supporters of his centrist party, as well as those supporting junior coalition partners, in order to secure the presidency.
A key factor in this election is the performance of far-right candidates, who have surprised many by gaining significant support. ‘Grzegorz Braun’s result was particularly notable,’ with some of his supporters unlikely to vote for either Trzaskowski or Nawrocki due to their representation of established parties.
The outcome of the second round will depend on which candidate can mobilise their electorate and persuade undecided voters to back them.
