WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles have been voting Sunday in a presidential election at a time of heightened safety considerations stemming from the continued struggle in neighboring Ukraine and rising fear that the U.S. dedication to Europe’s safety could possibly be weakening beneath President Donald Trump.
The high two front-runners are Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a liberal allied with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian with no prior political expertise who’s supported by the nationwide conservative Legislation and Justice social gathering.
Current opinion polls present Trzaskowski with round 30% help and Nawrocki within the mid-20s. A second spherical between the 2 is broadly anticipated to happen on June 1.
The election can also be a check of the power of different forces, together with the far proper.
Sławomir Mentzen, a hard-right candidate who blends populist MAGA-style rhetoric with libertarian economics and a crucial stance towards the European Union, has been polling in third place.
Ten different candidates are additionally on the poll. With such a crowded discipline and a requirement {that a} candidate obtain greater than 50% of the vote to win outright, a second spherical appeared all however inevitable.
Wojtek Radwanski/AFP through Getty Photos
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500GMT) and shut at 9 p.m. (1900GMT). Exit polls might be launched when voting ends, with outcomes anticipated by Tuesday, presumably Monday.
Polish authorities have reported makes an attempt at overseas interference throughout the marketing campaign, together with denial-of-service assaults concentrating on events in Tusk’s coalition on Friday and allegations by a state analysis institute that political adverts on Fb have been funded from overseas.
Though Poland’s prime minister and parliament maintain main authority over home coverage, the presidency carries substantial energy. The president serves as commander of the armed forces, performs a job in overseas and safety coverage, and may veto laws.
The conservative outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, has repeatedly used that energy over greater than the previous 12 months to hamper Tusk’s agenda, for instance blocking ambassadorial nominations and utilizing his veto energy to withstand reversing disputed judicial and media modifications made throughout Legislation and Justice’s time in energy from 2015 to late 2023.
A Trzaskowski victory could possibly be anticipated to finish such a standoff. He has pledged to help reforms to the courts and public media, each of which critics say have been politicized beneath Legislation and Justice. Tusk’s opponents say he has additionally politicized public media.
Monika Laskowska-Dzierbicka, a 36-year-old medical psychology, voted in Warsaw for Trzaskowski. She stated she feels “he would be able to resolve disputes, that he would not divide Poles.”
“Rafał Trzaskowski is a competent person, he knows languages, so he will try to get along with everyone,” she stated.
Nawrocki, who leads a state historic institute, has positioned himself as a defender of conservative values and nationwide sovereignty.
On the identical Warsaw polling station, 88-year-old Jerzy Iwiński stated Mentzen has a “sensible program” however that he didn’t wish to “waste” his vote on him, so he solid his poll for Nawrocki. He stated he views Nawrocki as a higher patriot than Trzaskowski.
One other Nawrocki supporter, Irena Kuczyńska, 79, shared her view: “From the old days of my family, God, Honor and Fatherland are the most important. And that’s why I’m with Mr. Nawrocki.”
