A preliminary exit poll has shown liberal pro-EU candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, to be ahead by a razor-thin margin in the presidential election’s second round with 50.3% of the vote.
His conservative opponent Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and amateur boxer, backed by nationalists Law and Justice (PiS), was at 49.7%, the poll said.
The exit poll commissioned by three Polish television stations is within the margin of error and the race is too close to call. More comprehensive results are expected Monday morning.
Turnout was 72.8%, higher than the 67.3% in the first round on 18 May.
Mr. Trzaskowski, 53, campaigned on a promise to help Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government complete its democratic reforms, and repair an erosion of checks and balances under the previous nationalist government that lost the election in 2023.
“We won,” he told cheering party members after the exit surveys came out. “I will bring people together, I will be constructive, I will be a president for all Poles. I will be your president.”
If elected president, Nawrocki said he would not ratify Ukraine’s NATO bid because of the danger of the alliance being drawn into war with Russia.
Nawrocki, who draws his inspiration from Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, said it was too early to call Trzaskowski’s victory.
“We will win and we will save Poland,” he said. “We will not allow for Donald Tusk’s power to be all-encompassing and the monopoly of evil power.”
The chairman of the Polish National Electoral Commission said some incidents had been reported during voting, with “232 possible offenses” occurring.
The exit poll data was collected by the Ipsos research center for three Polish television stations.
Poland on the brink
