WARSAW: Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki gained Poland’s presidential election, official outcomes confirmed on Monday (Jun 2), in a significant blow for the nation’s pro-EU authorities.
The 42-year-old, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, scored 50.89 per cent of votes in Sunday’s runoff, the nationwide election fee stated.
His 53-year-old rival Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s pro-EU mayor and an ally of the nation’s centrist authorities, gained 49.11 per cent within the extremely polarised NATO and EU nation.
“Congratulations to the winner!” outgoing conservative President Andrzej Duda stated on X.
Duda, who had endorsed Nawrocki, thanked Poles for “finishing up your civic responsibility” and for the turnout, which was 71.63 per cent.
The outcomes adopted a tense night as each candidates had claimed victory when an exit ballot indicated they have been neck and neck.
“We’ll win and we’ll save Poland,” Nawrocki advised a crowd of supporters at his election evening rally in Warsaw quickly after polling stations closed.
Nawrocki’s win will block the federal government’s progressive agenda for abortion and LGBTQ rights and will revive tensions with Brussels over rule of legislation points.
It may additionally undermine robust ties with neighbouring Ukraine as he’s crucial of Kyiv’s EU and NATO accession plans and needs to chop advantages for Ukrainian refugees.
Nawrocki visited the White Home throughout his marketing campaign and stated he had been advised by Trump: “You’ll win.”
US Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem additionally endorsed Nawrocki when she attended a conservative convention in Poland final week, saying: “He must be the following president.”
