Kidawa-Błońska told a news conference she was stepping aside to make room for another candidate picked by her centrist Civic Platform (PO) party who could have a better chance of defeating the conservative incumbent in an upcoming election.
It was not immediately clear who would be named to replace Kidawa-Błońska as her party’s presidential nominee.
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski was widely expected to enter the fray in her place.
During her election campaign, Kidawa-Błońska, a deputy lower-house Speaker, sought to present herself as a moderate, conciliatory figure able to reach out to voters from across Poland’s bitterly divided political landscape.
According to poll findings cited by state news agency PAP on Thursday, Kidawa-Błońska’s approval ratings plunged from over 20 percent in February to a mere 4 percent in April.
Poland's presidential election had been scheduled for May 10, but failed to go ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed almost 900 lives in the country.
Parliamentary Speaker Elżbieta Witek is soon expected to announce a new date for the vote.
In a major re-election campaign speech, incumbent President Andrzej Duda early this month summed up his first five years in office and outlined his second-term vision for Poland.
Duda’s contenders in the presidential race include middle-of-the-road politician Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL); leftist Robert Biedroń; far-right hopeful Krzysztof Bosak; and celebrity journalist Szymon Hołownia.
All these candidates and a few others earlier this month locked horns in a televised debate ahead of the presidential ballot, which is now likely to be held sometime in the summer.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP