The first round presidential elections in Poland ended with a tense confrontation between the mayor of Warsaw Rafal Taszkovsky and a candidate from the Party " Law and Justice" by Karol Navrotsky. According to the exit fields, published May 18 , EuroPe Elects platform , Taszkovsky leads from 31.6% of the vote, while Navrotsky gained 29.8%. The third place was taken by Slavomir Menzen with 14% support.
Rafal Taszkovsky positions himself as a pro -European politician, a supporter of Green Course , the support of LGBTK+ rights and women's rights to abortions. One of the key elements his campaign is a defensive strategy: it promises to increase defense costs to 5% of GDP in 2026 . In foreign policy, Tshaskovsky strongly supports European integration , including its accession to the EU and NATO. However, during the debate in May 2025 , he made an ambiguous statement about Ukraine as a " buffer zone ", which caused criticism from some media and experts. Karol Navrotsky, instead, occupies a more nationalist and Eurosptic position. He publicly opposes Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO, arguing with " unresolved Polish issues", including the topic of exhumation of victims of the Volyn tragedy. Navrotsky also sharply criticizes the European Union policy on climate, migration and financial assistance to Ukraine.
Both candidates offer dramatically different ways of development of Poland - from pro -European and progressive to conservative and isolation. The result of the second round not only determine the new political leadership of Poland, but also affect the future relations of the country with Ukraine, the EU and NATO.
