RIGHT-WING historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s weekend presidential run-off election, it was announced today.

In a close contest Mr Nawrocki won 50.89 per cent of votes against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11 per cent.

The race reveals deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of Nato and the European Union.

An early exit poll released Sunday evening suggested Mr Trzaskowski was headed to victory but the picture soon changed.

But Mr Trzaskowski, who was forced to concede defeat on Monday, congratulated Mr Nawrocki and thanked all those who voted for him.

“I fought for us to build a strong, safe, honest, and empathetic Poland together,” he wrote on X. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to convince the majority of citizens of my vision for Poland. I’m sorry we didn’t win together.”

The outcome suggests that Poland can be expected to take a more right-wing and nationalist path under its new leader, who was backed by United States President Donald Trump.

Mr Nawrocki will succeed another rightwinger, Andrzej Duda, for his five-year term.

Mr Duda said: “It was a difficult, sometimes painful, but incredibly courageous fight for Poland, for how the affairs of our homeland are to be conducted.”

Mr Nawrocki does not support ceding any more powers to Brussels and also opposes the EU’s climate and migration policies.

Most day-to-day power in the Polish political system rests with a prime minister chosen by the parliament. However, the president holds the power to influence foreign policy and veto legislation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the leaders offering their congratulations to Mr Nawrocki on Monday morning.

He called Poland “a pillar of regional and European security.” 

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was looking forward to working with Mr Nawrocki “to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home,” of Europe.