Latest news with #PolandVotes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Polish nationalist Nawrocki expected to win presidential vote, news website Onet says
(Reuters) -The candidate supported by Poland's largest nationalist opposition party, Karol Nawrocki, was expected to win the presidential election second round with 50.9% of votes, the news website Onet said early on Monday. Poland's Electoral Commission said on its website it has finished counting all of the votes. Official results are expected sometime Monday morning the Commission had said earlier.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Polish nationalist Nawrocki expected to win presidential vote, news website Onet says
June 2 (Reuters) - The candidate supported by Poland's largest nationalist opposition party, Karol Nawrocki, was expected to win the presidential election second round with 50.9% of votes, the news website Onet said early on Monday. Poland's Electoral Commission said on its website it has finished counting all of the votes. Official results are expected sometime Monday morning the Commission had said earlier.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland votes in tight election as Europe watches
Poland voted on Sunday in a tight presidential election that will be decisive for the future of the country's pro-EU government as well as for abortion and LGBTQ rights. Centrist Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is expected to win 30 percent of the vote, according to opinion polls, ahead of nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki on 25 percent. That would put both through to a run-off on June 1 at a fraught moment for Europe. Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on, far-right populists continue to make electoral gains and ties with Washington are under strain. Voting ends at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), when exit polls are expected. The final official results of the contest, in which 13 candidates are running, are expected on Monday. "These are very important elections," voter Marcin Woloszynski, a 42-year-old economist, told AFP. "They offer two diametrically opposed visions of Poland... a democratic, European, open, confident, honest Poland on one side, and the opposite on the other," he said after casting his ballot in Warsaw, where support for Trzaskowski is particularly high. Ever since Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition came to power in 2023, key government initiatives have been blocked by vetoes from nationalist President Andrzej Duda. Anti-communist icon Lech Walesa, who in 1990 became Poland's first democratically elected president since World War II, said the election was a "chance to restore order in our country". "This is a time of big discussions over the future of Poland, Europe and the world," he was quoted by Poland's PAP news agency as saying. Turnout was 50.69 percent at 5:00 pm -- higher than the 47.89 percent at the same time in the first round of the last presidential election in 2020. - Foreign policy, social issues - The electoral campaign in Poland -- a member of both the European Union and NATO -- has largely revolved around foreign policy, showcasing a clash of philosophies over Poland's engagement with the EU and the United States. But social issues have also played a major part. Trzaskowski, 53, has promised to support abortion and LGBTQ rights. "These elections are about rights for women and minorities, rights for children and animals," said Anna Rusztynska-Wolska, a 69-year-old doctor, after voting. "They are about security in the European Union and in the world because the more Poland is a country that respects the rule of law (and is) rich and well-managed, the better it will be for all of us," she said. The former ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), which backs Nawrocki, was frequently at odds with Poland's Western allies and EU institutions in Brussels over rule-of-law concerns. Nawrocki, 42, is an admirer of US President Donald Trump. He said Trump told him: "You will win" when they met at the White House earlier this month. The key to the election could be whether supporters of Slawomir Mentzen, a far-right candidate polling in third position with around 12 percent, cast their ballots for Nawrocki in the second round. Mentzen is a eurosceptic libertarian staunchly opposed to abortion and migrants. He has accused the country's one million Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Poland. Echoing some of Mentzen's rhetoric, self-employed 25-year-old Radoslaw Wiecek said he did not want Poland to be "totally subject to the EU". Speaking on the eve of the vote, Wiecek said he wanted "a fresh wind" to end the dominance of the two main political groups -- Law and Justice and the Civic Coalition (KO) that backs Trzaskowski. For Anna Urbanska, a 74-year-old pensioner, the key electoral issue was immigration, which has risen sharply in recent years. "I don't want these immigrants to be allowed in here, in Poland. I want us to be able to live more peacefully," she said. - High stakes for Europe - The governing coalition is hopeful a victory by Trzaskowski would enable it to fulfil its hitherto undelivered campaign pledges. Tusk's administration has been prevented from easing Poland's stringent abortion laws and introducing other changes by the president's power of veto, to the disappointment of some voters. Poland's head of state is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, steers foreign policy and can introduce and veto legislation. The stakes are high for Europe. Under Tusk, a former EU leader, Poland has grown more important on the continent, reinforcing its position as a key voice on NATO's eastern flank against Russia. bur-dt/jj
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Poland votes in tight election as Europe watches
WARSAW: Poles vote on Sunday in a tight presidential election that will be decisive for the future of the country's centrist government as well as for abortion and LGBTQ rights. Pro-EU Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is expected to get 30 percent, ahead of nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki's 25 percent, according to opinion polls. That would put both through to the runoff on June 1 at a particularly fraught moment for Europe as Russia's invasion of Ukraine drags on, far-right populists continue to rise and ties with Washington come under strain. Polls open at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) and close at 9:00 p.m. when exit polls are to be released. There are 13 candidates in total and definitive results are expected only on Monday. Ever since former EU leader Donald Tusk's coalition came to power in 2023, key government initiatives have been blocked by the veto of nationalist President Andrzej Duda. Some Poles are hoping that logjam is about to end. 'I hope that these elections will complete the change,' said Hubert Michalowski, a self-employed 50-year-old. Michalowski told AFP he was opposed to any rightward turn for Poland and instead wanted his country to 'stay in the center and reverse this trend in Europe as well.' The electoral campaign in the European Union and NATO member has largely revolved around foreign policy, showcasing a clash of philosophies over Poland's engagement with the EU and the United States. But social issues have also played a major part. Trzaskowski, 53, has promised to support abortion and LGBTQ rights — a prospect that has raised the hopes of Malgorzata Mikoszewska, 41, a tourism agency employee. 'Above all, I hope for the liberalization of the law on abortion and sexual minorities,' she said. The Law and Justice party (PiS), which backs Nawrocki, was frequently at odds with Poland's Western allies and EU institutions in Brussels over rule-of-law concerns. It lost power in 2023. Nawrocki, 42, admires Donald Trump and said the US president told him 'You will win' when they met at the White House earlier this month. The key to the election could be whether supporters of Slawomir Mentzen, a far-right candidate polling in third position with around 12 percent, cast their ballots for Nawrocki in the second round. Mentzen is a Euroskeptic libertarian staunchly against abortion and migrants. He has accused the country's one million Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Poland. Echoing some of Mentzen's rhetoric, self-employed 25-year-old Radoslaw Wiecek said he did not want Poland to be 'totally subject to the EU.' Wiecek said he wanted 'a fresh wind' to end the dominance of the two main political groups — Law and Justice and the Civic Coalition (KO) which backs Trzaskowski. For Anna Urbanska, a 74-year-old pensioner, the key electoral issue is immigration. 'I don't want these immigrants to be allowed in here, in Poland. I want us to be able to live more peacefully,' she governing coalition is hopeful a victory by Trzaskowski would enable it to fulfil its hitherto undelivered campaign pledges. Tusk's administration has been stymied from easing Poland's stringent abortion laws and introducing other changes by the head of state's veto power, to the disappointment of some voters. Poland's president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, steers foreign policy and can introduce and veto legislation. 'With Nawrocki as president, the government would be paralyzed, and that could eventually lead to the fall of the ruling coalition,' said political scientist Anna Materska-Sosnowska. His victory could mean 'the return of the populists with renewed force' at the next general election, she told AFP. The stakes are high for Europe. Under Tusk, Poland has grown more important on the continent, reinforcing its position as a key voice on NATO's eastern flank against Russian aggression. Materska-Sosnowska said the ballot was fundamental for 'attempts to stop the anti-democratic, populist trend running through Europe.'
