Andrzej Duda, the incumbent, is stepping down after serving the maximum of two terms in office allowed under the Polish constitution. 

If no candidate secures a majority on May 18, a second round run-off vote between the two leading candidates is scheduled to take place on June 1. 

Although the full list of candidates has not been finalized, the election could be a two-horse race between Rafał Trzaskowski, the socially liberal mayor of Warsaw from the Civic Platform, the biggest party in the governing coalition, and Karol Nawrocki. 

A social conservative and the current head of the National Institute of Remembrance, the body charged with investigating wartime and communist-era crimes, Nawrocki has the backing of Law and Justice, the largest opposition party. 

“I don't have to tell you how important this moment is: we are electing the head of the military, and we are electing someone who will lead the state in these very difficult times for the next five years,” Hołownia said.