A week before the second round of the Polish presidential election, two marches in support of rival candidates took place in Warsaw.
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The second round of the Polish presidential election is set to be tight, with both candidates going head to head. Both Civic Coalition candidate Rafał Trzaskowski and Law and Justice or PiS party-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki argue that if they were to win, the entirety of Poland would win.
Tens of thousands of Poles from across the country took part in dueling patriotic marches in Warsaw on Sunday.
Banners and flags, not just only of Poland, but also of the European Union, flew at Trzaskowski's "Great Patriots March."
"We are from a small village, from Kokoszkowe near Starogard Gdański, and we got up at six in the morning. The journey went quickly for us. Of course we [voted] for Rafał Trzaskowski. Otherwise is simply unthinkable," one of the march attendees told Euronews.
"I support Trzaskowski, maybe not because I was his first voter, because I didn't vote for him in the first round, of course, but nevertheless, we need to mobilise," said a young man in the march, for whom this is the first presidential election in which he can vote.
Meanwhile, people at the "March for Poland" supporting Nawrocki stressed the importance of traditional values.
"I want Poland to be Poland, for me this is the basis," an attendee of the march told Euronews.
"We support right-wing views. First of all, freedom, sovereignty, defence of borders, defence of the Polish zloty. We are doing very well economically," another woman said while walking through the centre together with other Nawrocki supporters.
"We think that Poland with Mr. Karol [Nawrocki] will be safe. We don't want illegal immigrants. We want to feel safe," explained another woman who went to the march with her young children.
Turnout
According to Donald Tusk, half a million people were present at the march in support of Trzaskowski. "There are half a million of us. I believe in you. I believe in Poland," the Prime Minister wrote on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the march in support of Nawrocki reported at least 100,000 people took part.
However, press agencies, including Associated Press, and local media reported a much lower attendance, claiming tens of thousands of Poles took part in both marches combined.
Polish police authorities did not provide information on the turnout at the marches.
Support from Romania
The pro-European mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, took part in the "Great Patriots March," sending a strong symbol regarding his support of European values.
During his speech, Dan stressed that they share the same values and priorities. The President-elect said that countries cannot develop without a united European Union and that he believes in a strong Poland, and in a strong European Union.
He also assured that, as President of Romania, he would work closely with Rafał Trzaskowski and Donald Tusk.
On 13 May, in turn, nationalist Romanian presidential candidate George Simion came to Poland to support his opponent, the Law and Justice Party-backed Nawrocki.
The second round of the presidential election in Poland will take place on 1 June.