By Canadian Press

Polish prime minister’s party picks Warsaw mayor as its candidate for president

Nov 23, 2024 | 3:14 AM

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski has been selected by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition as its candidate in next year’s presidential election, beating out Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

Tusk announced the decision at a party gathering on Saturday, a day after the party members voted in a primary.

Tusk said that Trzaskowski won nearly 75% of the votes, and Sikorski slightly over 25%.

Sikorski accepted the result and congratulated Trzaskowski.

Trzaskowski has long been considered the obvious candidate for Tusk’s party, but was recently challenged by Sikorski’s decision to run.

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Sikorski, who has served as a defense and foreign minister in past governments and has ties in Washington, had argued that his experience in security and diplomacy made him the better choice at a time of war in neighboring Ukraine and political change in the United States.

Trzaskowski is expected to be a leading candidate in a field of challengers from other parties.

The conservative opposition Law and Justice party led by Jarosław Kaczyński, which governed Poland from 2015-23, has not named its candidate yet. That person is expected to be picked by Kaczyński.

The date of the presidential election has not yet been announced but a first round is expected to be held in May, and a possible runoff two weeks later if no candidate gets an outright majority in the first round.

President Andrzej Duda will complete his second five-year term in August 2025 and is prevented by the constitution from running again.

It is a priority for Tusk to have an ally win the presidency because it will determine whether he can fulfil his agenda. He is currently unable to complete some of his campaign promises because Duda wields veto power over legislation, but also because of opposition within his own three-party coalition.

Trzaskowski in his role has overseen a rapidly changing capital city of nearly 2 million people that has absorbed large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. He ran for president in 2020, and barely lost to Duda.

The Civic Coalition is led by Tusk’s party Civic Platform and also includes smaller parties including the Greens.

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press