Poles prepare to head for polls

18th June 2010

Poland heads to the ballot box on Sunday to choose a new president following the death of Lech Kaczynski in the Smolensk air crash in an election that could help determine the pace of reform and Poland’s image abroad.

Bronislaw Komorowski, the acting head of state, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the identical twin of the late president, have emerged as the two front-runners, leaving the eight other candidates trailing in their wake.

A Thursday opinion poll showed that Mr Komorowski, who represents Civic Platform (PO), the party of the prime minister Donald Tusk, had managed to put a brake on a recent surge of support for Mr Kaczynski and kept a 10 percent lead, with 41 percent.

But with ...