Karol Nawrocki, an outspoken opponent of abortion and LGBT ideology, won the Polish presidential election Sunday, defeating Rafal Trzaskowski, who had pledged to liberalize the country's abortion laws and expressed support for same-sex marriage.
Unofficial results from Poland's National Electoral Commission show that Nawrocki received 50.89% of the vote, compared to Trzaskowski’s 49.11%, marking a victory for conservative forces in Europe.
Nawrocki, 42, and Trzaskowski, 53, faced off in the second round of voting, two weeks after they secured the most votes in the first round, which included 11 other candidates. Nawrocki was supported by the conservative Law & Justice Party, while Trzaskowski ran with the liberal Civic Platform.
Central to Nawrocki’s campaign was opposition to abortion and LGBT ideology—topics he emphasized strongly. In a January event, Nawrocki put a poster advertising the book Gender Queer into a paper shredder, earning applause from the audience.
Nawrocki stated in an interview with Polsat News that he is “for life from the beginning to natural death. I am a Christian and a Catholic,” and insisted he would not restore the “so-called ‘abortion compromise,” which allows abortion of children with Down syndrome, saying, “I could not allow, as a future president, for children with Down syndrome to be subjected to abortion,”
He also opposed bills that would permit civil partnerships for same-sex couples. “As the Constitution states, marriage is between a man and a woman,” he explained, asserting, “In Poland, we have two genders.”
While Poland is currently led by President Andrzej Duda of the Law & Justice Party, Prime Minister Donald Tusk of the Civic Coalition has been in office since 2023.
Following Sunday’s election, Tusk announced plans to hold a vote of confidence in his government, as the coalition of left-wing parties controlling the Polish Parliament will decide whether he remains as prime minister in light of the rejection of their preferred presidential candidate.
