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.
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