Conservative Karol Nawrocki has won Poland's presidential election over the weekend, according to the final vote count.
Mr Nawrocki won 50.89% of the vote in a tight race with Warsaw's liberal mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, who won 49.11%.
The tense fight has kept the country on edge since the first round two weeks ago and continued into Monday night, highlighting deep divisions within the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union.
Early exit poll results released on Sunday evening showed Mr Trzaskowski in a comfortable lead, but updated data within hours began to change the situation.
The result suggests that Poland is likely to move along a more nationalist course under a new leader backed by US President Donald Trump.
Most of the real power in the Polish political system is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, who is elected by parliament.
However, the presidency is not a purely ceremonial position. The position has the ability to influence foreign policy and veto legislative initiatives.
Nawrocki will replace Andrzej Duda, a conservative whose term ends on August 6.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to power in late 2023 after the collapse of a coalition government that was bridging a significant ideological divide – so significant that it failed to deliver on some of Mr Tusk's campaign promises, such as relaxing strict abortion laws.
However, Mr Duda's veto power became another obstacle.
That has prevented Mr Tusk from following through on promises to repeal laws that politicised the judiciary in ways the European Union has deemed undemocratic.
Now it looks like Mr Tusk will not have the chance to deliver on the promises he made to both voters and the EU.
Mr Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian, was nominated by the Law and Justice party as part of its fresh start strategy.
The party governed Poland from 2015 to 2023, until it lost power to a centrist coalition led by Tusk.
Some political analysts predicted the party would never come back, and Mr. Nawrocki was chosen as a fresh face, untainted by the scandals of the party's eight years of rule.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
