Rightwing historian joins runoff for Polish presidency

The pro-European centrist Rafał Trzaskowski and the historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the populist right, have each secured about 30% of the vote in a nail-bitingly close first round of Poland's presidential election, setting the stage for a runoff vote that will force voters to choose between starkly different visions of the country's future.

- Jakub Krupa Warsaw Ashifa Kassam

An exit poll carried out by Ipsos, released as voting closed yesterday, suggested Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and candidate from the prime minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, had obtained 30.8% of the votes in the first round. Right behind him was Nawrocki, who has been endorsed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), with 29.1% of the vote.

Trzaskowski had long been the favourite to win the election, but his lead over Nawrocki had narrowed in recent weeks. The exit poll, however, points to a closer than anticipated first round result that is likely to make Trzaskowski and Tusk nervous.

On social media, Tusk wrote that everything was at stake now, adding that "the next two weeks will decide the future" of Poland. "Not one step back!" he said.

The outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, is a close ally of the previous PiS government and a supporter of Donald Trump. He opposed the changes pursued by the new administration and blocked some decisions, including ambassadorial nominations.