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Democracy in focus as thousands march for Polish presidential candidates

Prime Minister Donald Tusk backs liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski to succeed President Duda, but Trzaskowski is trailing in polls despite narrowly beating nationalist Karol Nawrocki by two points in the first round on May 18. read more Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, the presidential candidate of the Civic Coalition, attends "Patriotic March" organised by the ruling party, together with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, ahead of the second round of presidential elections, in Warsaw, Poland. Reuters Tens of thousands of people marched through Warsaw on Sunday to demonstrate their support for candidates running in next week's hotly contested presidential election in Poland, which the government sees as critical to its democratic reform efforts. Prime Minister Donald Tusk seeks to rally support for his choice, liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, to succeed outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a nationalist who has blocked several of his initiatives to reform the judiciary. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'All of Poland is looking at us. All of Europe is looking at us. The whole world is looking at us,' Trzaskowski told supporters waving red and white Polish and European Union flags. More from World Poland's presidential election heads to second round with unexpected contenders Tusk swept into power in 2023 with a broad alliance of leftist and centrist parties, on a promise to undo changes made by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government that the European Union said had undermined democracy and women's and minority rights. But Trzaskowski is struggling to secure a lead in opinion polls, after beating nationalist Karol Nawrocki by two percentage points in the first round of the election on May 18. Nawrocki's 'March for Poland' was due to end up at Castle Square in Warsaw's Old Town. Nawrocki's supporters, some wearing hats saying 'Poland is the most important', sang patriotic and religious songs and held up signs calling for an end to immigration. 'I am Polish and so I am voting for a candidate who will guarantee our future and act as a counterbalance to the current government,' said Piotr Slaby, a financial sector worker from the city of Przemysl in southeastern Poland. Piotr Nowak, a technician from Warsaw, 41, said: 'We have a cosmopolitan government. They want to introduce the euro and we will lose our sovereignty.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'He is the best candidate, the most patriotic, one who can guarantee that Poland is independent and sovereign,' said Jan Sulanowski, 42. Romanian president-elect Nicusor Dan, a pro-EU centrist who is due to be sworn in on Monday in his country, also attended the Trzaskowki march. Dan pledged to work closely with Tusk and Trzaskowski 'to ensure Poland and the European Union remain strong'. Dan's unexpected victory in a vote on May 18 over a hard-right Trump supporter was greeted with relief in Brussels and other parts of Europe, as many were concerned that his rival George Simion would have complicated EU's efforts to tackle Russia's war in Ukraine. Olivia, 20, a student who declined to give her last name, said she supported Trzaskowski 'above all because he wants to protect LGBTQ people and women's rights on the issue of abortion'. Trzaskowski, who is married with two children, has vowed to campaign for women's rights and legalise abortion in the predominantly Catholic country, which has a near-total ban on the procedure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies