Karol Nawrocki wins Poland's presidential election

WARSAW -- Karol Nawrocki, an independent candidate backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, won Poland's presidential runoff election, the Polish National Electoral Commission (PKW) announced in a press conference Monday morning.

The final result, reading "Elected in the second round," was written next to Nawrocki's name on the public website of the PKW on Monday.

Nawrocki, a historian and head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, received 50.89 percent of the vote in the presidential runoff, ahead of Rafal Trzaskowski, the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) candidate and mayor of Warsaw, who garnered 49.11 percent.

This was Nawrocki's first presidential campaign — an uphill battle from the start. He consistently trailed Trzaskowski in the polls, including Sunday evening's initial exit survey.

Born in 1983 in Gdansk, Nawrocki is set to succeed the incumbent president Andrzej Duda, whose second and final term ends on Aug 6.

According to data released by the PKW, the turnout in the second round of elections was 71.63 percent, meaning that Nawrocki is one of the Polish presidents who received the most votes since 1990.

According to the Polish Press Agency, Duda congratulated Nawrocki on Monday morning for winning the presidential election.

"THANK YOU! For participating in the presidential elections. For the turnout. For fulfilling your civic duty. For taking responsibility for Poland. Congratulations to the Winner!" Duda posted on social media platform X.