Conservative Karol Nawrocki Wins Poland's Prez Election

Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland's weekend presidential run-off election, according to the final vote count on Monday.

- Associated Press

WARSAW, POLAND: Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%.

The race had Poland on edge since a first round of voting two weeks earlier, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.

An early exit poll released on Sunday evening suggested Trzaskowski was headed to victory before updated polling began to reverse the picture a couple of hours later.

The outcome suggests that Poland can be expected to take a more populist and nationalist path under its new leader, who was backed by US President Donald Trump.

Trzaskowski congratulated Nawrocki on Monday, and thanked all those who voted for him. "I fought for us to build a strong, safe, honest, and empathetic Poland together," he wrote on X. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to convince the majority of citizens of my vision for Poland. I'm sorry we didn't win together."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the leaders offering their congratulations to Nawrocki on Monday morning, an acknowledgment of Poland's key role as a neighbor, ally and hub for Western weapons sent to Kyiv.