Voting began in Poland on Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election that will shape the country’s political future and decide its stance on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and relations with the European Union.
The polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500 UTC) and close at 9 p.m. (1900 UTC), with exit poll results available after the voting has ended.
Results are expected to be in by Monday or Tuesday.
The front-runners are pro-EU Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition, and nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki, supported by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Polls show Trzaskowski leading with around 30% support, followed by Nawrocki in the mid-20s, making a June 1 runoff between the two likely.
Trzaskowski has pledged to support abortion rights and LGBTQ protections, while Nawrocki presents himself as a defender of conservative values and national sovereignty.
US President Donald Trump recently met Nawrocki in the White House showing his support.
The polls come amid a tussle between the Polish prime minister and the outgoing, conservative President Andrzej Duda, who has vetoed many of the Tusk government’s attempts at policy reform.
A Trzaskowski win would likely ease that gridlock, while a Nawrocki presidency could stall the coalition’s agenda.
There is also a chance that far-right candidate Sławomir Mentzen, campaigning on anti-immigration, anti-EU rhetoric, could play the kingmaker in the second round.
The other candidates in the fray are Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia of the centre-right Poland 2050 and Magdalena Biejat from the Left.
