Poland: Vote too close to call, Trzaskowski claims victory

• Poles were choosing between Warsaw's pro-EU mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki 
• Exit polls show race is still too close to call
• Trzaskowski narrowly won the first round of voting on May 18
• The result could have major implications for Poland, a NATO and European Union member 
• Polish presidents can veto government bills and are also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces

Here's the latest news and updates on Poland's presidential runoff on June 1, 2025:

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Exit poll in Poland's presidential runoff is too close to call

As polls closed in Poland's presidential runoff election, exit polls were too close to predict who might come out on top.

An Ipsos exit poll predicted that liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski won 50.3% of the vote and conservative historian Karol
Nawrocki won 49.7%.

Trzaskowsk is claiming he won the second round of the election.

Voter turnout appeared to be high with at least 54.91% of eligible voters casting their ballots by late Sunday afternoon, according to the electoral commission in Warsaw.

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

DW asks: What do Poles expect of their next president?

From local policies, working with parliament and the war in Ukraine, there's much at stake in the second round of the presidential elections in Poland.

DW asked people in Warsaw what kind of president they are hoping for. 

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

IN PICTURES — Poland's presidential runoff election

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Both candidates have cast their votes

The two presidential hopefuls in Poland's runoff vote cast their ballots on Sunday.

Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski posted a photo with his wife Malgorzata Trzaskowska on X, calling on Poles to head out and vote.

"Polling stations are open until 9 pm!" he wrote. 

Trzaskowski's rival, Karol Nawrocki, also posted "Long Live Poland," accompanied by a photo with his family.  

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Who are the candidates?

Polls show that the difference between Rafal Trzaskowski (L) and Karol Nawrocki (R) is within the margin of errorImage: Kacper Pempel/Lukasz Glowala/REUTERS

Poland's presidential runoff has boiled down to a radically different ideological choice: a pro-European liberal versus a staunch nationalist. 

Rafal Trzaskowski is backed by the governing Civic Coalition party of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president. He was elected mayor of Warsaw in 2018 and re-elected in 2024.

A former deputy foreign minister, the 53-year-old has promised to soften Poland's near-total abortion ban and protect LGBTQ rights. His victory would allow Tusk to push ahead with his reformist agenda.

Rafal Trzaskowski speaks English, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish [FILE: May 29, 2025]Image: Mikolaj Barbanell/SOPA/ZUMA/picture alliance

In 2020, Trzaskowski narrowly lost his first presidential bid to incumbent Andrzej Duda, who is finishing his second and final term.

This time around, the race is expected to be even tighter. The Warsaw mayor is pitted against Karol Nawrocki, a historian endorsed by Duda who has blocked several laws with his veto power.

The 42-year-old has positioned himself as a defender of traditional Polish values. He campaigned under the slogan "Poland first, Poles first."

Karol Nawrocki served as the director of the World War II museum in Gdansk from 2017 to 2021Image: Beata Zawrzel/Anadolu/picture alliance

Nawrocki, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, is skeptical of the EU. His win would be a major boost for the opposition Law and Justice party, which governed Poland between 2015 and 2023.

His supporters want stricter curbs on immigration. Nawrocki has called for border controls with Germany to keep out migrants.

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Polls open as voting gets underway

The result of the vote will have major implications for Poland's political future and its role in the EU Image: Sergei Gapon/AFP

Polling stations have opened across Poland in the closely fought presidential runoff.

It follows a first round on May 18, in which Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski won by a razor-thin margin. Trzaskowski earned just over 31% against nearly 30% for Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian. Eleven other candidates were eliminated.

Voting will end at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) when exit polls are expected to come out. Final results are likely to be announced on Monday.

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

WATCH — What's at stake in Poland's presidential election?

DW Brussels bureau chief Alexandra von Nahmen explains how the outcome will determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist path or pivots to more pro-EU policies.

Due to the presidential power to veto laws, the winner could make or break the agenda of the centrist government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Presidential runoff in Poland: Why every vote matters

Agnieszka Hreczuk

Rafal Trzaskowski or Karol Nawrocki? Opinion polls see both remaining candidates neck-and-neck in the runoff. 

To many Polish voters, Sunday's election is not so much about who they want, but who they don't want to see in office. 

Read more on what's at stake in Poland's presidential election.

06/01/2025June 1, 2025

Welcome to DW's coverage of the 2025 Poland presidential election

Poland will go to the polls today to vote in a runoff presidential election between two candidates with starkly different visions for the country.

Voters will choose between pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and conservative nationalist Karol Nawrocki, supported by the opposition Law and Justice party.

The winner will succeed incumbent President Andrzej Duda, who is finishing his second and final term. 

DW will be tracking the latest developments and bringing you multimedia content and analysis on the vote.