The Voice News: Karol Nawrocki, a politician widely regarded as a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has won Poland’s presidential election. However, the victory did not come easily, as he had to overcome stiff competition from rival candidate Rafal Trzaskowski.
On Sunday, Poland’s National Election Commission announced the official results. Nawrocki, representing the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, secured victory with 50.89 percent of the vote. The PiS party is one of Poland’s most popular right-wing political parties.
His main opponent, Rafal Trzaskowski, was the candidate of the left-leaning Civic Platform party. Before running for president, Trzaskowski served as the mayor of the capital, Warsaw.
According to the Election Commission, nearly 29 million voters participated in this presidential election, with a voter turnout of 71.63 percent.
Karol Nawrocki, 42, is a professional historian by training. Known for his oratory skills, he also has a keen interest in football. With this recent electoral victory, he succeeds outgoing President Andrzej Duda.
A week before the election, Nawrocki visited Washington and reportedly met with Donald Trump. He is said to have promised that, if elected, he would steer Polish politics closer to Washington.
Some Polish political analysts believe that Nawrocki’s victory could lead to future political challenges. According to the country’s constitution, the powers of the President and Prime Minister are nearly equivalent. Currently, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk is a liberal and a strong pro-European Union politician.
Relations between the United States and the European Union have cooled somewhat since Trump announced new tariff policies in February.