Voting began in 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 centrist Civic Coalition, and nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki, supported by the conservative .
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.
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