Poland is heading for a runoff presidential election on June 1 after none of the candidates secured an outright majority in the first round held on May 18. According to preliminary results reported by Polish news outlets and based on the National Electoral Commission’s full ballot tally, Rafal Trzaskowski of the ruling centrist Civic Coalition and Karol Nawrocki from the opposition Law and Justice Party emerged as the top contenders.
Trzaskowski, currently the Mayor of Warsaw and a leading voice of the Civic Coalition, garnered 31.36% of the vote. His closest rival, Nawrocki, a historian and former head of the Institute of National Remembrance backed by the conservative Law and Justice Party, secured 29.54%. Both candidates are now preparing for a high-stakes second round that will likely determine the direction of Polish politics for the next five years.
The official results are yet to be confirmed, with the head of Poland’s National Electoral Commission expected to make a formal announcement at a press conference soon.
Slawomir Mentzen of the right-wing New Hope party came in third with a significant 14.8% share, reflecting growing support for nationalist and libertarian platforms. He was followed by Grzegorz Braun, another right-wing figure, who earned 6.3%.
Szymon Holownia, the current Marshal of the Sejm and a centrist independent, received 5%. Meanwhile, left-wing candidates Adrian Zandberg and Magdalena Biejat secured 4.8% and 4.2%, respectively. The remaining candidates each received between 0.1% and 1.2% of the vote.
Voter turnout stood at an impressive 67.3%, the highest recorded since Poland’s transition to democracy in 1990. The elevated participation underscores the public’s deep engagement in the country’s political future amid growing polarization and economic challenges.
The upcoming runoff between Trzaskowski and Nawrocki is expected to be a closely contested race, with both sides working to attract voters from eliminated candidates. The outcome may hinge on how centrist and right-leaning voters realign, and on turnout levels matching or exceeding the first round.
