Presidential elections in Poland: the mayor of Warsaw and the president of the Institute of National Remembrance advance to the second round

The first round of the presidential election took place in Poland on Sunday, May 18. As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, the State Election Commission had counted votes in 99.99% of polling stations.

This is reported by the media Polsat News and Onet.

Previously, 31.36% of voters voted for Rafal Trzaskowski, a representative of the pro-government "Civil Coalition". In second place was independent candidate Karol Nawrocki with 29.54% of the vote, supported by the "Law and Justice" party.

Exit polls show that the head of the political association "Confederation" Sławomir Menzen came in third place with a score of 14.8%. He criticized the idea of military aid to Ukraine, and since February 2025 he has been included in the "Peacemaker" base.

So, the pro-European mayor of Warsaw, Trzaskowski, and the historian and head of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, Nawrocki, are advancing to the second round of the presidential election in Poland. The second round is scheduled for June 1.

Rafal Trzaskowski — what is his position on the war?

Rafal Trzaskowski is a candidate for president of Poland from the Civic Coalition party, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. His position on Ukraine is that Poland should continue to support Kyiv and provide military assistance. Trzaskowski also advocates for Ukraineʼs membership in the EU and NATO.

"Military support for Ukraine is in Polandʼs national interests. Ukrainians are fighting for our freedom, and it is in Polandʼs national interests for Ukraine to have proper security guarantees. In return, common sense is needed in our relations with Ukraine," he said in a blitz interview for Ukrinform.

What Karol Nawrocki said about Ukraine

Karol Nawrocki is positioning himself as an independent candidate. He criticizes the current Polish government, opposes the “inflow of illegal immigrants” and the sending of Polish soldiers to Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine treats Poland “unfairly”.

"We have the right to demand the implementation of the Polish agenda in Ukraine," he declared.

Nawrocki “counts on a greater presence of Polish entities and companies on the Ukrainian market and closer economic cooperation".

Earlier this year, Karol Nawrocki said he saw no future for Ukraine in either the European Union or NATO until Kyiv was held accountable “for the Volyn crime,” referring to the Volyn tragedy. His words were criticized by Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the time.

• The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that before the elections in Poland on May 18, the Russian Federation launched a special operation called Doppelganger, one of the largest and longest-lasting information campaigns against the countries of the European Union and NATO.

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