Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s right-wing opposition candidate, narrowly won the second spherical of voting within the nation’s presidential election on Sunday, based on the Nationwide Electoral Fee (NEC).
Right here is all it’s essential to know concerning the outcomes:
Who gained the presidential election in Poland?
Nawrocki gained with 50.89 p.c of the votes, the NEC web site up to date early on Monday.
He defeated liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who secured 49.11 p.c of the vote.
The end result was a shock as a result of exit polls had projected a slender loss for Nawrocki.
What occurred within the first spherical of the election?
The first round happened on Might 18, the place, as anticipated, not one of the 13 presidential candidates might handle to succeed in a 50 p.c threshold.
Trzaskowski gained 31.4 p.c of the vote, whereas Nawrocki acquired 29.5 p.c. As the highest two candidates, Nawrocki and Trzaskowski proceeded to the run-off.
Who’s Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s new president?
Nawrocki, 42, is a conservative historian and novice boxer.
He contested as an unbiased candidate, backed by the outgoing president, Andrzej Duda’s Legislation and Justice (PiS), Poland’s primary opposition get together.
The newly elected president’s educational work, as a historian, centred on anti-communist resistance. In the intervening time, he runs the Institute of Nationwide Remembrance, a Warsaw-based government-funded analysis institute that research the historical past of Poland throughout World Conflict II and the interval of communism till 1990.
On the institute, Nawrocki has eliminated Soviet memorials, upsetting Russia.
He administered the Museum of the Second World Conflict within the Polish metropolis of Gdansk from 2017 to 2021.
Nawrocki has had his share of controversies. In 2018, he revealed a ebook a few infamous gangster beneath the pseudonym “Tadeusz Batyr”. In public feedback, Nawrocki and Batyr praised one another, with out revealing they have been the identical particular person.
United States President Donald Trump’s administration threw its weight behind Nawrocki within the Polish election. The US group Conservative Political Motion Convention (CPAC) held its first assembly in Poland on Might 27. “We’d like you to elect the best chief,” US Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned in the course of the CPAC occasion.
Calling Trzaskowski “an absolute practice wreck of a frontrunner”, Noem mentioned, “I simply had the chance to fulfill with Karol and pay attention: he must be the subsequent president of Poland. Do you perceive me?”
How did Nawrocki win?
Consultants say the consistency of Nawrocki’s messaging on the marketing campaign path could have earned him his win.
“Folks select somebody they see as sturdy, clear, and constant,” Liliana Smiech, chairwoman of the Basis Council at Warsaw Institute, a Polish nonprofit suppose tank specialising in geopolitics and worldwide affairs, informed Al Jazeera.
“Even with the accusations towards him, voters most well-liked his firmness over Trzaskowski’s fixed rebranding. Trzaskowski tried to be all the pieces to everybody and ended up convincing nobody. Nawrocki appears to be like like somebody who can deal with stress. He grew to become the president for tough occasions.”
Not like Trzaskowski, Smiech mentioned, Nawrocki “didn’t attempt to please everybody”.
But he managed to please sufficient voters to win.
What’s the significance of Nawrocki’s win?
A lot of the energy in Poland rests within the palms of the prime minister. The incumbent, Donald Tusk, leads a centre-right coalition authorities, and Trzaskowski was the ruling alliance’s candidate.
Nawrocki has been deeply important of the Tusk administration. The president has the power to veto laws and affect navy and international coverage selections.
On the marketing campaign path, Nawrocki promised to decrease taxes and pull Poland out of the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, an settlement on new guidelines for managing migration and setting a typical asylum system; and the European Inexperienced Deal, which units benchmarks for environmental safety for the EU, reminiscent of the whole cessation of internet emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
Like different candidates, together with Trzaskowski, Nawrocki known as for Poland to spend as much as 5 p.c of its gross home product (GDP) on defence. Poland spent 3.8 p.c of its GDP on navy expenditure in 2023, based on World Financial institution information.
“Some anticipated a wave of assist for the left or liberal facet, particularly amongst younger folks. That didn’t occur. Nawrocki gained within the 18-39 age group,” Smiech mentioned.
“It’s a transparent message: folks nonetheless care about sovereignty, custom, and powerful management. Even youthful voters will not be shopping for into the concept of a ‘new progressive Poland’.”
What have been the important thing points within the Polish election?
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which started in February 2022, is a regarding situation for the Poles, who’re scared of a spillover of Russian aggression to Poland attributable to its proximity to Ukraine.
Whereas Poland initially threw its full assist behind Ukraine, tensions have grown between Poland and Ukraine.
Nawrocki is opposed to Ukraine becoming a member of NATO and the EU.
But, on the similar time, Poland and Nawrocki stay deeply suspicious of Russia.
On Might 12, the Polish Ministry of International Affairs said an investigation had revealed that Russian intelligence businesses had orchestrated an enormous fireplace at a procuring centre in Warsaw in Might 2024. For this reason a number of candidates on this election proposed elevating the defence funds to five p.c of the GDP.
Abortion is a key situation in Poland, which has a few of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. In August 2024, Prime Minister Tusk acknowledged that he didn’t have sufficient backing from parliament to ship on one in all his key marketing campaign guarantees and alter the abortion legislation. PiS, which backed Nawrocki, is against any legalisation of abortion.
Different points included financial considerations about taxes, housing prices and the state of public transport.
What’s subsequent?
Nawrocki is predicted to be sworn in on August 6.
Smeich mentioned Nawrocki might want to show that he’s not simply good at campaigning, but additionally at governing.
“Expectations are excessive. Folks need somebody who will defend Poland’s pursuits, keep agency beneath stress, and never give in to media or international affect. He’s beginning his time period in a troublesome second — precisely the form of second he was elected for.”
