VERSIONS: روسيا اليوم NOTICIAS FREEVIDEO ИНОТВ RTД
breakingnews
Go to main page   News   Komorowski declared Polish president-elect  
MORE ON THE STORY
Conservative candidate Jaroslaw Kaczynski speaks during the final election rally on June 18, 2010 in Gdansk
(AFP Photo /Wojtek Radwaski) 21.06.2010, 10:39

Poland elects president with heavy hearts

The first round of voting in Poland's Presidential election has failed to find a clear winner. Final results say the acting leader Bronislaw Komorowski fell just short of the 50 per cent needed for outright victory.

AFP Photo / Pedro Armestre 03.07.2010, 08:45

Poland ready for the final presidency battle

A "day of silence" has been declared in Poland, banning any political campaigning as Bronislaw Komorowski and Jaroslaw Kaczynski face-off on Sunday, fighting for the Presidency in a second round of elections.

04.07.2010, 00:54

Poles try to sell the President’s post

Ahead of Sunday’s second round of voting in the presidential election, some Poles were trying to sell their votes on the country's auction website, Reuters news agency reports.

At the TU-154 crash site, Smolensk region (AFP Photo / Andrey Smirnov) 10.04.2010, 21:40 183 comments

Polish president killed in air crash near Russia's Smolensk

All 96 people on board have died after a Polish presidential TU-154 plane crashed near an airport outside Smolensk in western Russia. The Polish president and his wife were among the killed.

Poland, Warsaw : Parliament Speaker, acting president and presidential candidate Bronislaw Komorowski leaves after addressing supporters after exit polls for the early presidential elections in Warsaw on July 4, 2010. (AFP Photo / Janek  Karzynski) 05.07.2010, 21:52 2 comments

Komorowski to end “war on top” in Poland

Polish-Russian relations are expected to further improve under the new Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

10.04.2010, 14:41 20 comments

Tragic reconciliation over Katyn tragedy

The tragic plane crash has not only prevented the symbolic reconciliation between Poland and Russia over the Katyn massacre but put an additional emotional shadow on the issue, says journalist Fred Weir.

Mourners laid candles and flowers in front of the presidential palace on April 10, 2010 in Warsaw (AFP Photo / Janek Skarzynski) 10.04.2010, 16:31 9 comments

Condolences flow to Poland on presidential plane crash

Condolences from all over the world are flowing to Warsaw on the tragic death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash in western Russia.

Mourning Polish people kneel down in front of the coffins of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski (L) and First Lady Maria Kaczynska displayed for the public in the presidential palace in Warsaw on April 13, 2010 (AFP Photo / Joe Klamar) 14.04.2010, 21:11 4 comments

Mourning Poland to announce date of presidential ballot

Acting Polish president Bronislav Komarovski is expected to announce the date of the presidential election later on Wednesday.

21.04.2010, 13:25

Polish elections set for June 20

Acting Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski has set the date for early presidential elections in Poland for Sunday June 20, the official Polish Parliament website said.

Prime Minister of Latvia Valdis Dombrovskis casts his ballot a polling station in Ligatne on October 2, 2010, during Latvian Parliament elections (AFP Photo / Aovars Liepins) 04.10.2010, 12:11 1 comment

New Latvian coalition may accept ultranationalist party

Although the political force supporting Latvia’s Russian-speaking population came second in Saturday’s election, it still lacks enough votes to enter government.

Komorowski declared Polish president-elect

Published: 05 July, 2010, 15:10
Edited: 05 July, 2010, 22:22

AFP Photo / Janek Skarzynski

(27.8Mb) embed video

TAGS: Election, Politics, Europe, Polish President's plane crash


With all the votes counted, the Polish election authority has declared Bronislaw Komorowski the new president-elect.

He received 53.01 per cent of the votes, while his only rival Jaroslaw Kaczynski had to settle for 46.99 per cent.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Komorowski on his victory in the poll on Monday.

Earlier Komorowski's competitor, the twin brother of the late Polish leader, had conceded defeat in the presidential race.

The early vote was triggered by the tragic death of the country's previous leader in a plane crash in April.

It was set to be a tight race. The platforms of the two candidates were pretty much similar, according to what the analysts have been saying ever since the unscheduled presidential campaign started in Poland. The difference was that Bronislaw Komorowski is seen as a politician who is mild in his policies both inside and outside Poland, while Jaroslaw Kaczynski is more a far-right nationalist hardliner.

The first round of the election two weeks ago brought no major sensations, except for the fact that the gap between the two main candidates was only five per cent, while it had been predicted that it could widen to at least ten per cent or more. This fact brought more intrigue into the second round, especially given the fact that there could have been the factor of a sympathy vote for Jaroslaw Kaczynski, which could have turned this election into a completely unpredictable scenario.

Bronislaw Komorowski has been traditionally seen as a front runner and most likely winner of this election. Just several months ago, opinion polls suggested over 50 per cent of people would vote for Komorowski, but during the election campaign, the twin brother of the late president Lech Kaczynski, managed to snatch more votes in his favor.

Another factor at play was that Komorowski’s electorate, which is mostly young people, is currently either on holidays or getting down at music festivals across Poland, and they may have failed to give their votes to the interim president. It was more certain with Kaczynski’s electorate. Older people, who are mostly in favor of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, were expected to turn up at the polling station.

Piotr Kazcynski from the Centre for European policy studies believes that the government will be centralized in the hands of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“The whole executive branch is in his hands, through either direct control of his party in the parliament or the government that he presides over, as well as the direct link with fellow party member Komorowski,” Kazcynski told RT.

Watch the interview with Kazcynski

downloadembed

“Komorowski’s victory means a real possibility of Russian-Polish thaw” – analysts

Bronislaw Komorowski’s victory will help to improve both Russian-Polish and Russian-European relations in general, and will make the dialogue with Poland more constructive, believes Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Parliamentary Committee for International Affairs.

From the point of view of internal affairs, the Poles have been given the choice between the model of the previous years, when the parliament and the president were in opposition to each other, and the model of partnership between these power institutions, Kosachev added.

“Komorowski’s victory means that the government and parliamentary majority will have support from president. This is a partnership model,” Kosachev said.

Poland is tired of a dead-locked, straightforward confrontation with Russia, says Aleksey Makarkin, First Deputy President of the Center of Political Technology.

“Both main candidates understood it, but if Jaroslaw Kaczynski had won, his actions towards Russia would have been more complicated to figure out in advance,” Makarkin said.

Aleksey Makarkin believes that Komorowski’s kindly statements towards Russia during the election campaign have been not just rhetoric, but more likely part of the line Poland is going to hold in regard to Russia.

As for the military policy, especially US missile defense plans, Komorowski is unlikely to make great changes to the military and political co-operation that exists now between Poland and NATO and the US, believes political analyst Evgeny Volk, deputy director of the Yeltsin Foundation.

“Some years ago, Poland has made a choice becoming an active member of NATO, and the plans to deploy new missiles which Poland believes to be needed for its defense will go on, despite opposition on behalf of the Russian government,” Evgeny Volk says.

Watch the full interview with Evgeny Volk

downloadembed

Tadeusz Iwinski, a member of the Polish Parliament, believes the political situation in Poland is certain to become “brand new.”

I believe we will accelerate the process of a deeper co-operation with all our major neighbors, including Ukraine,” Iwinski said. “Because the number one target for Poland is just to diminish. […] the gaps that exist between us and most developed EU countries.”

Watch the full interview with Tadeusz Iwinski

downloadembed

+12 (12 votes)
 
Back to top
next MORE NEWS
05.07.2010, 13:38 2 comments

Hanging of Mumbai terrorist postponed due to lack of a hangman

The sole surviving gunman from the Mumbai terror attacks is on death row after the court ruled he should be executed. But the government is struggling to find a hangman, as the profession has, itself, perished in India.

05.07.2010, 22:44

Putin calls on Georgia to establish direct talks with Abkhazia and S. Ossetia

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged Georgia to abstain from seeking outside assistance in resolving its dispute with the newly emerged states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.