Supporters of conservative presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki maintain up indicators as they rally in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Could 13, 2025. The writing reads: Karol, the person who will grow to be president, Get up, Poland! and Our president Karol Nawrocki.
Czarek Sokolowski/AP
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Czarek Sokolowski/AP
WARSAW, Poland — Poles are voting Sunday in a presidential election at a time of heightened safety considerations stemming from the continuing conflict in neighboring Ukraine and rising fear that the U.S. dedication to Europe’s safety could possibly be weakening below President Donald Trump.
The highest two front-runners are Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a liberal allied with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian with no prior political expertise who’s supported by the nationwide conservative Legislation and Justice social gathering.
Current opinion polls present Trzaskowski with round 30% help and Nawrocki within the mid-20s. A second spherical between the 2 is extensively anticipated to happen on June 1.
The election can also be a take a look at of the power of different forces, together with the far proper.
Sławomir Mentzen, a hard-right candidate who blends populist MAGA rhetoric with libertarian economics and a vital stance towards the European Union, has been polling in third place.
Ten different candidates are additionally on the poll. With such a crowded subject and a requirement {that a} candidate obtain greater than 50% of the vote to win outright, a second spherical appeared all however inevitable.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500GMT) and shut at 9 p.m. (1900GMT). Exit polls will probably be launched when voting ends, with outcomes anticipated by Tuesday, probably Monday.
Polish authorities have reported makes an attempt at international interference throughout the marketing campaign, together with denial-of-service assaults focusing on events in Tusk’s coalition on Friday and allegations by a state analysis institute that political adverts on Fb have been funded from overseas.
Though Poland’s prime minister and parliament maintain major authority over home coverage, the presidency carries substantial energy. The president serves as commander of the armed forces, performs a task in international and safety coverage, and may veto laws.
The conservative outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, has repeatedly used that energy over greater than the previous 12 months to hamper Tusk’s agenda, for instance blocking ambassadorial nominations and utilizing his veto energy to withstand reversing judicial and media modifications made throughout Legislation and Justice’s time in energy from 2015 to late 2023.
A Trzaskowski victory could possibly be anticipated to finish such a standoff. He has pledged to help reforms to the courts and public media, each of which critics say have been politicized below Legislation and Justice. Tusk’s opponents say he has additionally politicized public media.
Nawrocki, who leads a state historic institute, has positioned himself as a defender of conservative values and nationwide sovereignty.
