If large urban centres are the core constituency of the liberal government of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, then Sunday's presidential election first round showed him struggling against an anti-establishment pushback simmering throughout Europe.

In Poland's presidential election, Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly leads against Karol Nawrocki, indicating a substantial anti-establishment sentiment. A Trzaskowski win could advance democratic reforms promised by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

IT WAS NO surprise that Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, finished ahead of Karol Nawrocki, the candidate backed by the main hard-right opposition party, in the first round of the country’s presidential elections on May 18th.

An exit poll shows that the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, and a conservative historian, Karol Nawrocki, are the front-runners in a presidential election in Poland on Sunday.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his allies have less than two weeks to convince voters to stick with their ruling coalition after a surge in support for nationalists in a presidential election.

Poland will hold the first round of a presidential election on May 18, setting the scene for a vote that will be crucial for the pro-European government's hopes of implementing its reformist agenda.

Centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and nationalist Karol Nawrocki will compete in a second round of the presidential election in Poland on June 1, the electoral commission said based on votes from 100% of electoral districts.

The data from polling stations abroad are already known. Poland is awaiting the second round of the presidential election. In the first round, the Civic Coalition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski is leading with a minimal margin of 31.2%, while the second is the Law and Justice candidate Karol Nawrocki with 29.7%.