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Poland election exit polls suggest Duda beats Komorowski Poland election: Komorowski concedes defeat to Duda
(35 minutes later)
Exit polls in Poland suggest that Andrzej Duda has beaten incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski for the presidency in a run-off vote. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has conceded election defeat to conservative challenger Andrzej Duda following the release of exit polls.
Mr Duda, the Conservative challenger, had edged Mr Komorowski in the first round but did not gain the 50% needed to win outright. They suggested Mr Duda had taken the run-off vote by 53% to 47%.
Mr Komorowski had been the favourite in previous opinion polls and had been looking for a second term. Mr Duda had edged Mr Komorowski, who had been the favourite, in the first round but did not gain the 50% needed to win outright.
The exit polls were delayed after a woman died at a polling station.
The president has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws.The president has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws.
Mr Komorowski, 62, took office five years ago after his predecessor, Lech Kaczynski, died in a plane crash. The exit polls had been delayed after a woman died at a polling station on Sunday.
Official results are expected on Monday.
Wake-up call
"I respect your choice," Mr Komorowski told voters at a gathering of his supporters. "I wish my challenger a successful presidency."
The victory will be a wake-up call to Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, an ally of Mr Komorowski, ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn.
Analysis: BBC's Adam Easton in WarsawAnalysis: BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw
The choice was between two conservatives albeit with some differences. This is a remarkable and decisive victory for Mr Duda. It's remarkable because he is a relative unknown and Mr Komorowski has been a popular president. It suggests that many Poles have grown weary of President Komorowski's backers, the governing centre-right Civic Platform party.
President Komorowski set himself out as the stable candidate who could steer Poland safely through troubled times caused by the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine. In its eight years in office the party has maintained Poland's economic growth despite the financial crisis. But it has also reneged on some of its promises and increased the retirement age, an unpopular move.
A firm supporter of the EU he was also somewhat more progressive on social issues than his younger challenger, Andrzej Duda, who opposes abortion, IVF treatment and same-sex marriage. Poland is gradually catching up to Western Europe's living standards but youth unemployment is high and Poles can still earn much more in the UK or Germany. Many Poles simply do not feel the benefit of 25 years of near uninterrupted growth and Mr Duda appeals to them.
Mr Duda is a moderate eurosceptic who favours state support for those less well off. He has appealed to the millions of Poles who say they do not feel the benefits of the country's 25 years of almost uninterrupted economic growth. He has promised to bring the retirement age back down, but he'd need his Law and Justice party to win this autumn's parliamentary elections to be able to do that. It's been 10 years since they won an election but many think that may now happen. If it does, judging by its last spell in office in 2005-2007, Poland will become more inward looking and much less at ease with its EU partners.
Opinion polls before the first round had put him comfortably in the lead. Mr Komorowski, 62, took office five years ago after his predecessor, Lech Kaczynski, died in a plane crash.
Mr Komorowski had been the favourite according to previous opinion polls and had been looking for a second term.
Mr Duda, 43, is from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party, which is led by former President Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw.Mr Duda, 43, is from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party, which is led by former President Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw.
In the first round Mr Duda attracted most support in the more conservative eastern regions of the country, near the border with Ukraine and Belarus.In the first round Mr Duda attracted most support in the more conservative eastern regions of the country, near the border with Ukraine and Belarus.
The presidential vote comes ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn.