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Poland votes in a snap election Poland votes in a snap election
(about 2 hours later)
People in Poland are voting in a parliamentary poll that has been called two years ahead of schedule. People in Poland are voting in general elections called two years early, after the collapse of the ruling coalition in a row over a corruption investigation.
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice Party is being challenged by the Civic Platform, led by centre right rival Donald Tusk.
Both parties have their roots in the anti-communist Solidarity movement.
Some Poles still believe a coalition between them would give Poland its best chance of stable government.
Some are calling these elections the most important since the fall of Communism in 1989.Some are calling these elections the most important since the fall of Communism in 1989.
The poll was called after the collapse of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's coalition government in a row over an investigation into corruption.
Mr Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice Party is being pitted against the rival, centre-right Civic Platform.
On Saturday, a leading Polish newspaper warned of low turnout and voter apathy.
Much of the front page of the Gazeta Wyborcza was left blank, in a symbolic representation of the 60% of voters who failed to turn out for the parliamentary election two years ago.
PolarisedPolarised
Poland is a country polarised between supporters and opponents of Mr Kaczynski. Poland is a country polarised between supporters and opponents of Mr Kaczynski, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw.
Mr Kaczynski believes Poland has not dealt with its communist past The 58-year-old prime minister believes the state is broken and he is the first politician to try to mend it, he says.
The 58-year-old prime minister believes the state is broken and he is the first politician to try to mend it. I didn't like being talked down to for the last two years Jan ZawiszWarsaw voter
He has done this by giving extra power to anti-corruption agencies while purging former communists.He has done this by giving extra power to anti-corruption agencies while purging former communists.
Mr Kaczynski has also promoted an assertive foreign policy and traditional Catholic values.Mr Kaczynski has also promoted an assertive foreign policy and traditional Catholic values.
His policies and style are not to the taste of many better-off and well-educated city dwellers, who prefer the pro-business Civic Platform party of Donald Tusk. Among his supporters, Andrzej Sulkowski said he voted for Law and Justice "because this party is telling the truth and doing something".
The two parties have traded insults during the campaign, but they both have their roots in the anti-communist Solidarity movement and some Poles still believe a coalition between them would give Poland its best chance of stable government. "In their two years of government they did what they could," he told the Associated Press news agency.
But Mr Kaczynski's policies and style are not to the taste of many better-off and well-educated city dwellers, who prefer the pro-business Civic Platform party of Donald Tusk.
Mr Kaczynski believes Poland has not dealt with its communist past
"I didn't like being talked down to for the last two years," Jan Zawisz, told Reuters news agency in Warsaw, as he voted for Mr Tusk's Platform.
Another Tusk supporter, Adam Lutostanski, complained that the prime minister and his supporters were "too Church-oriented".
Disillusionment
In the 18 years since the end of Communism, the country has had 12 different prime ministers.
It is this instability which partly explains why people here have become so disillusioned with democratic politics so quickly, says our Warsaw correspondent.
Donald Tusk wants lower taxes
On Saturday, a leading Polish newspaper warned of low turnout and voter apathy.
Much of the front page of the Gazeta Wyborcza was left blank, in a symbolic representation of the 60% of voters who failed to turn out for the parliamentary election two years ago.
Polls opened at 0600 (0400 GMT), and were to close at 2000 (1800 GMT).
The first exit polls were due to be released at 2020. Full results may not be known until Monday or Tuesday.