Jaroslaw Kaczynski votes in Warsaw. Photo - east news

UPDATE 2 - Polling stations opened at 6 am this morning in the first round of presidential elections in Poland. The National Election Commission has informed that at 17.00 CET turnout was 41.57 percent.

During the presidential election campaign of 2005, turnout at 16.30 CET was 35 percent.

Turnout has been highest in Warsaw, where around 50 percent had already voted by 5 pm local time.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski (pictured) voted in the morning at his local polling station in Zoliborz, northern Warsaw. He was accompanied by his niece Marta, her husband and children. Later in the morning candidates Marek Jurek, Andrzej Lepper, Andrzej Lepper and Andrzej Olechowski also cast votes in their local area. Waldemar Pawlak voted in Plock, north of Warsaw accompanied by his son Mateusz. Grzegorz Napieralski also cast his vote in the capital, at around midday, as did acting president Bronislaw Komorowski, accompanied by his wife Anna. Komorowski described the ballot today as a "festival of democracy".

Head of the commission Stefan Jaworski said that there is no reason at present to extend voting time after 20.00 CET when polling station are scheduled to close as all ballot boxes were opened on time this morning. One polling station opened ten minutes late in Radom, however, when an election worker forgot the official stamp.

Over 30 million Poles are entitled to vote today.

Three constituencies, in Katowice, Płocko-Ciechanow and Krosno, are also holding Senate by-elections after the deaths of Krystyna Bochenek, Stanislaw Zajac and Janina Fetlińska died in the plane disaster in western Russia on April 10.

Elections are also being held in the areas recently devastated by flooding.

If no candidate gains an overall majority in the first round today the two politicians with most votes go through to a second round on July 4. (pg)

source: PAP/IAR

Related link: ELECTIONS 2010 - FACTSHEET

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