Trump-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki has won the presidential election in Poland in an extremely close race that had both sides declaring victory over the weekend. Nawrocki defeated pro-E.U. centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski with 50.8% of the vote after the final tally Monday.

Nawrocki is a member of the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice Party, which had ruled Poland from 2015 until their defeat in 2023 in the parliament, when centrist Donald Tusk became the prime minister. Although the majority of political power rests with the prime minister in Poland, the president controls foreign policy and has veto power over legislation.

This spells almost certain defeat for Tusk's liberalization agenda, which includes instituting abortion rights and creating an independent judiciary,

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