Warsaw [Poland], June 3: Conservative Karol Nawrocki has won a knife-edge vote to become Poland's next president, the electoral commission confirmed on Monday, after he secured 50.89% of the vote.
His opponent, liberal candidate and Warsaw Mayor Rafat Trzaskowski, received 49.11%. Trzaskowski on Monday congratulated his right-wing rival.
"This victory is an obligation, especially in such difficult times. Especially with such a close result. You should remember that," Trzaskowski wrote on X. The 53-year-old mayor of Warsaw thanked his voters and apologized, saying: "I am sorry I did not succeed in convincing the majority of citizens of my vision of Poland."
Nawrocki's election is likely to complicate efforts by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to push through his government's policies, as Nawrocki represents the rival conservative nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party and as president will have the power to veto legislation.
The final result was a major disappointment for Trzaskowski's camp, after exit polls on Sunday night indicated that he had a very slight lead.
Trzaskowski even called the outcome a win immediately after the first exit polls were announced, but his margin disappeared during the course of the night. Of the 29 million eligible voters, Nawrocki received 10.6 million votes, while Traszkowski received 10.23 million, the electoral commission said. Voter turnout was just under 72%.
All the opinion polls in the run-up to Sunday's vote had indicated a razor-thin gap between the candidates since the first round of voting on May 18.
In Poland, the president holds a five-year term and has broad powers, including representing the country abroad, shaping foreign policy, appointing the prime minister and the Cabinet, and serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in the event of war.
The president also has the power of veto over legislation that has passed through parliament - a power used on several occasions by outgoing President Andrzej Duda, who like Nawrocki represents PiS.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is from the rival Civic Coalition. As head of the Institute of National Remembrance tasked with evaluating the country's complex recent past, Nawrocki ordered Soviet memorials to be destroyed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, exploiting the move in the media and incurring the wrath of the Kremlin.
Source: Qatar Tribune