Updated at 14:26,02-12-2024

Komorowski comes first among Polish presidential candidates at polling stations in Belarus

By Maryna Nosava, BelaPAN

Incumbent Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, one of the 11 candidates in Poland’s presidential election, won the largest share of the vote from citizens of Poland living or temporarily staying in Belarus.

A total of 211 Polish citizens cast their ballots in Belarus on Sunday, including 89 at the Polish embassy in Minsk, 84 at the Polish consulate in Hrodna and 38 at the Polish consulate in Brest, the embassy’s spokesperson, Anna Derska, told BelaPAN on Monday.

According to her, Mr. Komorowski, a representative of the center-right Civic Platform party, received 96 votes. He was followed by Conservative challenger Andrzej Duda with 74 votes, rock musician Pawel Kukiz with 23 votes, and right-wing MEP Janusz Korwin-Mikke, with five votes. Janus Jarubas, deputy leader of the agrarian Polish People’s Party, and liberal lawmaker Janusz Palikot got two votes each.

An exit poll gave Mr. Duda 34.5 percent of the vote, just ahead of Mr. Komorowski on 33.1 percent. The exist poll also suggested that Mr. Kukiz would come third in the election, gaining just over 20 percent of the vote, while the other candidates would get less than five percent each.

With none of the contenders securing the 50 percent needed for outright victory, the election will go to a second round, pitting Mr. Komorowski against Mr. Duda.