Poles vote for new president but run-off likely
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-09 15:10

Poles began voting in a presidential election on Sunday that could decide whether Poland pursues new market reforms or focuses on traditional conservative values since completing its long trek into the EU.

The last opinion polls showed moderate pro-business candidate Donald Tusk with a slim lead over conservative Lech Kaczynski but that neither candidate had enough support to avoid a run-off vote in two weeks' time.

The polls predicted Tusk would win by a narrow margin in the second round on Oct 23 in the contest between the two former activists with Solidarity.

Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) and first exit polls were due after voting ends at 8 p.m. None of the remaining 10 candidates looks able to threaten the front-runners.

Tusk's and Kaczynski's parties trounced the ruling left in parliamentary elections two weeks ago and are now in coalition talks, complicated by the presidential duel.

A victory for either man would cement a sharp swing to the right after four years of scandal-tainted leftist rule and two five-year terms for outgoing formerly communist President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

CONSIDERABLE POWERS

Whoever wins will have considerable powers. The president is commander in chief of Polish forces, has a say over foreign policy, can propose and veto legislation and nominate prime ministers and, in some circumstances, dissolve parliament.

Mirroring a European Union-wide debate, the election campaign between Tusk and Kaczynski centered on how quickly and how far to go with free-market reforms and how much welfare the EU's biggest new member can afford.

Tusk, 48, and his Civic Platform want to revitalize the economy by cutting red tape and taxes, saying this is the best way to put back to work Poland's 18 percent unemployed, an EU record high.

The soft-spoken historian paints his party as a force for modernization that can unite Poles, mend strained relations with big neighbors Germany and Russia and anchor the nation of 38 million in the European mainstream.

Kaczynski, 56, and his Law and Justice party promise a clear break from post-communist Poland under the banner of the "Fourth Republic," "moral renewal" and a return to Christian values while protecting workers' rights and the welfare state.

The conservatives have also courted the religious right, shrugging off EU criticism over their calls to limit gay rights and reinstate the death penalty.

"I came to vote for Tusk. I am not fully convinced by him, but he looks to have the best chance," economist Krystian Jacobson, 28, said in Tusk's home city, the Baltic port of Gdansk and birthplace of Solidarity.

"I hope that things will get a bit better, at least in the economy," he said.