Jaroslaw Kaczynski (right) will replace his identical twin brother, the late Lech Kaczynski - who perished in the April 10 Smolensk air disaster - in presidential elections in Poland, hurriedly brought forward to June 20.
Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party formally announced his candidacy Monday afternoon.
The announcement came just hours before the 16.15 CET deadline set by the National Electoral Commission for declarations as to who will be standing in the elections in June, which were originally scheduled for this autumn.
Late president, Lech KaczynskiThe election campaign will be fought in the shadow of the Smolensk air disaster when 96 died on their way to an anniversary ceremony of the 1940 Katyn massacre in western Russia.
Jaroslaw was the overwhelming favourite of the Law and Justice party to carry on the “mission” of his late brother.
“We need to complete the mission of victims of the catastrophe near Smolensk. We owe it to them, we owe it to our motherland (…) It is out duty to fulfill their will,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski said.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski said that the decision was an important one for him personally. “It is important to overcome personal grief and take up the task in spite of personal tragedy. That is why I decided to run for presidency and my family supports me.”
Adam Bielan, the mastermind of Lech Kaczynski’s victory in the 2005 election, said at the weekend that it was “always Lech’s wish that Jaroslaw would one day become president.”
Candidates will now have till May 26 to collect the necessary 100,000 signatures needed to be able to stand in the elections.
In the latest opinion poll by the Gfk Polonia, acting president and candidate for the Civic Platform party Bronislaw Komorowski had a clear 49 to 26 percent lead over Jaroslaw Kaczynski. The poll was taken, however, before the late president’s twin brother officially named himself as candidate.
The 60 year-old Jaroslaw Kaczynski – a co-founder with his brother of the Law and Justice party – is a trained lawyer, was prominent in the Solidarity trade union movement of the 1980s and a former prime minister, from July 2006 to November 2007.
There are now 16 candidates who have put forward their names for the presidential election. These are: Bronisław Komorowski (Civic Platform), Janusza Korwin-Mikke, Bogdan Szpryngiel, Bogusław Ziętek, Andrzej Lepper (Self defence), Andrzej Olechowski, Marek Jurek (Polish Right), Waldemar Pawlak (PSL), Kornel Morawiecki, Zdzisław Jankowski, Józef Wójcik, Roman Sklepowicz, Ludwik Wasiak, Zdzisław Podkański, Grzegorz Napieralski (SLD) and Jarosław Kaczyński (Law and Justice). (pg/mg)
audio - Agnieszka Bielawska
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