Karol Nawrocki, backed by the main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS), won Poland’s presidential election in a tight second-round race, securing 50.89 per cent of the vote, according to official results published early Monday by the National Electoral Commission (PKW). His opponent, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, received 49.11 per cent.
The PKW formally confirmed the results at a morning press briefing. Nawrocki received nearly 10.6 million votes—more than outgoing President Andrzej Duda won in 2020, when Trzaskowski also lost in a close contest. Trzaskowski dominated in major urban areas and the traditionally liberal western regions. Voter turnout reached a historic 71.63 per cent, the highest ever recorded for a Polish presidential election since 1995, and among the highest for any vote since the political transition in 1989. In Poland, the president is elected every five years and holds significant authority—not just symbolic. The president plays a role in foreign policy, commands the armed forces, and can veto legislation, with the Sejm needing a three-fifths majority to override such vetoes—a threshold the current governing coalition does not hold.
‘Voter turnout reached a historic 71.63 per cent, the highest ever recorded for a Polish presidential election since 1995’
Outgoing President Andrzej Duda congratulated Nawrocki and praised Trzaskowski for a ‘difficult, at times painful, but profoundly manly struggle for Poland.’ He also thanked citizens for the high turnout.
Trzaskowski, acknowledging his defeat in a post on X (formerly Twitter), warned the president-elect that such a narrow win comes with weighty responsibilities, especially in turbulent times. ‘Keep that in mind,’ he urged, while apologizing to his supporters for not being able to convince a majority of voters to embrace his vision for Poland.
Szymon Hołownia, speaker of the lower house and leader of the Poland 2050 party, also congratulated Nawrocki, calling on him to ‘heal a divided Poland’ and ‘bring peace, not revenge.’
Right-wing MP Krzysztof Bosak of the Confederation party, which supported Nawrocki in the second round, said on conservative Radio Wnet that the win ensures Poland will not fall ‘completely under the control of globalist and nihilistic left-liberal forces.’ He predicted political instability in the ruling coalition and a weakening of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s authority.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated the newly elected president in a Facebook post.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also praised Nawrocki’s victory during a joint press conference in Budapest with his Bulgarian counterpart. He described the result as a ‘huge patriotic win’ and said it could pave the way for restoring Polish–Hungarian relations, which he claimed were intentionally damaged by the previous Polish government.
Szijjártó also expressed hope that the result could revive the Visegrád Group, noting that recent Polish and Czech governments have distanced themselves from the alliance. ‘If President Babiš wins in the Czech Republic this fall,’ he added, ‘the V4 could once again become one of the EU’s strongest internal alliances.’
‘Congratulations to the patriotic candidate who triumphed in Poland’s election,’ Szijjártó concluded.
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