In total, conservative received 50.89% of the votes against 49.11% of his rival, liberal Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw
The conservative won the second round of presidential elections on Sunday (1) with 50.89% of the votes, against 49.11% of his rival, Liberal Rafal Trzaskowski, according to the results of the 100% of the votes published by the National Electoral Commission. In total, Nawrock, supported by the main opposition party, the Ultra-conservative Law and Justice (PIS), received 10,606,682 votes, while Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw and supported by the Government Coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, received 10,237,177. The difference, of 1.78%, is minimal and represents a second setback in a presidential election for the liberal and pro-European candidate, who had already lost in 2020 by 2.06% for current Polish president, Andrzej Duda, who concludes his second consecutive term as head of state in the country of central Europe in August.
In ballot box polls immediately carried out immediately after the closure of the electoral sections, two research companies gave Trzaskowski a minimal advantage over their nationalist rival, but two hours later, a more detailed report revealed Nawrockki as the winner, although by a narrow margin. After the initial research, both Nawrockki and Trzaskowski claimed victory at the polls. The conservative candidate, in particular, refused to give up, betting on villages, where he has his main strongholds, to the detriment of cities, where the liberal politician was expected to dominate.
This situation remembered the 1995 presidential election when Lech Walesa competed against Aleksander Kwaśniewski. Although Kwaśniewski had taken the lead in the first polls, his rival was victorious the next day and became president. The result of Sunday’s presidential election, in which there was a 71.63%stake, the largest ever recorded in a claim in Poland, represents a severe setback for Tusk’s government coalition, which admitted after the first round that the government had received a “yellow card” from the population, but was still confident in victory.
A severe setback for the liberal and pro-Europe government
The result of these elections also has profound implications for the Polish political scenario, as a 53 -year -old Trzaskowski’s victory would have facilitated the implementation of a government’s reformist agenda. The Mayor of Warsaw had promised to promote reforms such as liberalization of abortion and civil unions and reverse PIS’s judicial reforms, as well as seeking a closer relationship with Brussels. In contrast, Nawrock’s victory is seen as a continuity ahead of Duda’s Polish presidency, who did not hesitate to veto several Tusk initiatives. For this reason, analysts believe that progressive government management will remain difficult, with a possible stagnation of its reform agenda.
This morning, Duda thanked voters for gone to the polls, congratulated the winner and sent a message to the liberal government shouting “stay strong, Poland!”. The Polish President has the prerogative of the Legislative veto, can send laws to the Constitutional Court, whose majority of members were appointed by PIS-dominated parliaments, is commander-chief of the Armed Forces and must approve all important nominations, such as ambassadors. Nawrock, 42, former boxer and newcomer to politics with a sense of Euroceticism, adopted harder postures in issues such as immigration, showed affinity with the government of Donald Trump, who supported him, and expressed reluctance to Ukraine’s integration with NATO. The presidential elections, with such tight results, mirrored the “two pools” that exist in the country of Central Europe-one tending to a pro-Europe and liberal orientation, and the other ultra-conservative-which, divided between two distinct powers, is difficult to reconcile.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from EFE
