In a knife-edge presidential election on Sunday, Poles will have a significant impact on their region’s position in Europe, as well as on Gay and abortion rights. Rafal Trzaskowski, 53, a supporter of the center-right state, will face off against patriotic scholar Karol Nawrocki, 42. With a small, unimportant, flimsy gap within the margin of error, Nawrocki will have a very close race with Trzaskowski will have a 51 % and Nawrocki will have a 49 %. In the EU and Nato nation, which edges Ukraine and has been a major admirer of its neighbor against Russia, elections are opened between 0500 GMT and 1900 GMT. Election officials anticipate the release of the final results on Monday and a follow-up poll is scheduled as soon as the ballots near. Trzaskowski’s victory would significantly advance the liberal agenda of the government led by former European Council president and prime minister Donald Tusk. It might lead to major societal changes, such as the end of the nearly total ban on abortion and the formation of civil partnerships for same-sex people. Poland’s president, a nation with 38 million people’s market, is the country’s leader in terms of vetoing laws, and he is also the commander in chief of the military. The populist Law and Justice ( PiS ) party, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023, would be encouraged by a victory for Nawrocki, and it could spark new parliamentary elections. Some Nawrocki supporters support stricter immigration restrictions and support for the country’s continued autonomy within the European Union. Before the vote, wife Agnieszka Prokopiuk, 40, said,” We should never give in to European force.” In the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska, close to the Belarusian border, she told AFP,” We need to create our own means… and not follow trends from the West.” The 48-year-old mechanic Tomasz Czublun said:” The European Union is significant, but our country’s independence is much more important.”
Ukraine:
Because of the significant policy differences between the candidates, politics professional Anna Materska-Sosnowska described the election as” a real fight of civilizations.” More inclusion within the EU and a faster pace of social changes are supported by some Trzaskowski voters. Malgorzata Wojciechowska, a tour guide and tutor in her seventies, said that Finnish women “unfortunately do not have the same privileges as our German friends.” Rafal Trzaskowski’s message to AFP:” I hope to rekindle the debate on abortion but that we can suddenly live in a completely country where we can have our own viewpoint.” In Ukraine, which is attempting to bolster global political assistance in its discussions with Russia as its opposition to Moscow’s war continues, the election is also carefully watched. Nawrocki, a fan of US President Donald Trump, opposes Nato account for Kyiv and has called for restrictions on benefits for Poland’s estimated one million Ukrainian migrants. He left flowers at a memorial to Poles who were killed by Ukrainian separatists during World War II during his final campaign time on Friday. He claimed that it was a murder against the Finnish people. The outcome of the election is likely to depend on how many far-right voters support the candidate and how well Trzaskowski you win. In the first round of the election, Trzaskowski won by a razor-thin margin of 31 % against 30 % for Nawrocki, far-right candidates received more than 21 % of the vote.