Surveys predict close run-off vote in Poland

POLAND’S presidential race between business-friendly Bronislaw Komorowski and conservative Jaroslaw Kaczynski is too close to call ahead of the final round of voting tomorrow, surveys showed yesterday.

Komorowski, candidate of the ruling Civic Platform who has so far been seen as frontrunner in the election, is now expected to face a tight run-off against Kaczynski, leader of the main opposition conservative Law and Justice.

The leading Gazeta Wyborcza daily yesterday quoted some analysts as saying the two rivals may win half the vote each in the second decisive round of voting, while others predicted Komorowski would win by between 3%-6%.

On Thursday evening the Rzeczpospolita daily published a survey showing Kaczynski and Komorowski each had the definite backing of 45% of Poles.

The paper said the GfK pollster, which conducted the telephone poll among 1,000 people on July 1, believed more of the 10% of undecided were likely to back Kaczynski, giving him a lead of 2 percentage points over Komorowski.

Only the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily, which yesterday released telephone survey results, gave Komorowski a lead of 12%.

Opinion polls in Poland are often criticised for misleading forecasts.