Poles vote for a new president as security concerns loom large

WARSAW – Poles are voting Sunday successful a statesmanlike predetermination astatine a clip of heightened information concerns stemming from the ongoing warfare successful neighboring Ukraine and increasing interest that the U.S. committedness to Europe’s information could beryllium weakening nether President Donald Trump.

The apical 2 front-runners are Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a wide allied with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a blimpish historiographer with nary anterior governmental acquisition who is supported by the nationalist blimpish Law and Justice party.

Recent sentiment polls amusement Trzaskowski with astir 30% enactment and Nawrocki successful the mid-20s. A 2nd circular betwixt the 2 is wide expected to instrumentality spot connected June 1.

The predetermination is besides a trial of the spot of different forces, including the acold right.

Sławomir Mentzen, a hard-right campaigner who blends populist MAGA rhetoric with libertarian economics and a captious stance toward the European Union, has been polling successful 3rd place.

Ten different candidates are besides connected the ballot. With specified a crowded tract and a request that a campaigner person much than 50% of the ballot to triumph outright, a 2nd circular seemed each but inevitable.

Polling stations unfastened astatine 7 a.m. (0500GMT) and adjacent astatine 9 p.m. (1900GMT). Exit polls volition beryllium released erstwhile voting ends, with results expected by Tuesday, perchance Monday.

Polish authorities person reported attempts astatine overseas interference during the campaign, including denial-of-service attacks targeting parties successful Tusk’s conjugation connected Friday and allegations by a authorities probe institute that governmental ads connected Facebook were funded from abroad.

Although Poland’s premier curate and parliament clasp superior authorization implicit home policy, the presidency carries important power. The president serves arsenic commandant of the equipped forces, plays a relation successful overseas and information policy, and tin veto legislation.

The blimpish outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, has repeatedly utilized that powerfulness implicit much than the past twelvemonth to hamper Tusk’s agenda, for illustration blocking ambassadorial nominals and vetoing laws, galore aimed astatine reversing judicial and media changes made during Law and Justice’s clip successful powerfulness from 201 to precocious 2023.

A Trzaskowski triumph could beryllium expected to extremity specified a standoff. He has pledged to enactment reforms to the courts and nationalist media, some of which critics accidental were politicized nether Law and Justice.

Nawrocki, who leads a authorities humanities institute, has positioned himself arsenic a defender of blimpish values and nationalist sovereignty.

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