Karol Nawrocki Wins Polish Presidential Runoff, Defeats Trzaskowski in Tight Race

Karol Nawrocki, an independent candidate backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has won Poland’s presidential runoff election, according to final results released by the National Electoral Commission (PKW) early Monday.

The official tally showed Nawrocki securing 50.89% of the vote, narrowly defeating Civic Coalition (KO) candidate and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who garnered 49.11%, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Nawrocki, a historian and current head of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, marked his debut presidential campaign with what many saw as an uphill battle. He had consistently trailed Trzaskowski in pre-election polls and even in Sunday evening’s early exit surveys, which initially pointed to a KO victory before later counts reversed the outcome.

Born in 1983 in Gdansk, Nawrocki will succeed outgoing president Andrzej Duda, another PiS ally, whose final term ends on August 6. Duda, barred from seeking a third term, had frequently clashed with the ruling parliamentary majority led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, often vetoing legislation or sending it to courts aligned with the previous government.

Nawrocki’s victory signals a potential return to more nationalist policies, a direction supported by his PiS base and publicly endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump.