Polling stations open across Poland for presidential election

Polling stations have been officially opened across Poland for the highly anticipated presidential election. 

There are 32,000 polling stations across the country, where 29 million eligible voters will cast their ballots for one of 13 candidates running for the nation's highest office, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

The polling booths will remain open until 9:00 p.m. (GMT+2), after which exit poll results will be made available. The final, official results from the election are expected to be announced by Poland's state electoral commission within 48 hours. Should no candidate secure an absolute majority of votes, a runoff election will be scheduled for June 1.

Poland’s president serves a five-year term and may only be re-elected for one additional term. The candidates in Poland’s presidential race have been using anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Several candidates have expressed dissatisfaction with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the presence of Ukrainian refugees in Poland.    

Nearly one-third of Polish voters in preliminary polls are supporting Warsaw Mayor and leader of the "Civic Opposition" Rafał Trzaskowski. The second most popular candidate is Karol Nawrocki, nominated by the "Law and Justice" party and head of the Institute of National Remembrance. In third place is Sławomir Mentzen from the nationalist "Confederation" party.

During the debates, Mentzen called for preventing Ukraine's accession to NATO. He also stated that Poles must not die for Ukraine. Karol Nawrocki, the candidate from the "Law and Justice" party, took part earlier this year in a demonstration advocating for Poland's exit from the EU. This sparked criticism from the country's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.

By Naila Huseynova