Agencies Warsaw

Conservative Karol Nawrocki won Poland's weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count on Monday. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a very tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%. The race had Poland on edge since a first round of voting two weeks earlier, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.

An early exit poll released Sunday evening suggested Trzaskowski was headed to victory before updated polling began to reverse the picture a couple of hours later. The outcome suggests that Poland can be expected to take a more populist and nationalist path under its new president, who was backed by US President Donald Trump.

Trzaskowski conceded defeat and congratulated Nawrocki on Monday, thanking all those who voted for him. "I fought for us to build a strong, safe, honest and empathetic Poland together," he wrote on X. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to convince the majority of citizens of my vision for Poland. I'm sorry we didn't win together."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the leaders offering their congratulations to Nawrocki on Monday morning, an acknowledgment of Poland's key role as a neighbour, ally and hub for Western weapons sent to Kyiv.

He called Poland "a pillar of regional and European security," and said, "by reinforcing one another on our continent, we give greater strength to Europe in global competition and bring the achievement of real and lasting peace closer. I look forward to continued fruitful cooperation with Poland and with President Nawrocki personally."