Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał 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.

Presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the right-wing Law and Justice party, second right, greets supporters at his headquarters after the presidential election runoff in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

An early exit poll released 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 president, who was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trzaskowski conceded defeat and congratulated Nawrocki on Monday, thanking 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.”

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