RIGHT NOW: Shock in Polish fateful election

Poland

Continued shock in Polish election

Nora Fernstedt

Uppdated 22.35 | Published 21.04 

The polling stations have closed in Poland.

And the shock continues.

According to the first forecast, it is almost completely even between the presidential candidates.

On one side stands the national conservative Trump lover Karol Nawrocki, 42 – on the other the liberal EU friend  Rafal Trzaskowski, 53. 

          

          

         Liberal Rafal Trzaskowski, 53.

         1 / 2Photo: Petr David Josek / AP

Both declare themselves winner

The opinion polls have pointed to a dead heat.

And when the polling stations closed at 9 pm, it was clear that this could be a long night. 

According to the first exit poll, Trzaskowski has 50.3 percent and Nawrocki 49.7 percent, according to the Guardian.

There should be as little as 70,000 to 100,000 votes separating the candidates. The number of eligible voters in Poland is 28.3 million.

But both have already declared themselves winners.

“We won!” said Rafał Trzaskowski as he began his speech in Warsaw.

“This is a special moment in Poland’s history,” he continued, promising reforms and reaching out to those who did not vote for him.

Nawrocki is not ready to throw in the towel. In his first speech, he said that “we will win tonight.”

The election is crucial for the liberal Polish government, as the president has veto power.

If Trzaskowski wins, the government will be able to get its policies through more easily, which could strengthen the EU.

If, on the other hand, the right-wing Nawrocki wins, the same deadlock that has existed with the current national conservative president Andrzej Duda will continue.