Kaczynski Concedes Defeat in Polish Election

POLAND - Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski is conceding defeat as exit polls give a pro-business party a large lead over his ruling nationalists in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

The poll gives the Civic Platform Party about 44 percent of ballots cast, putting party leader Donald Tusk in line to be the next prime minister. The party will likely fall short of a majority of seats in parliament, but is expected to form a coalition with the centrist Polish Peasants Party.

Tusk says he wants Poles to feel comfortable in their own country again. Civic Platform is a center-right party which has pushed for lower taxes on businesses, a smaller bureaucracy, and closer integration into the European economic system. Tusk has said he will seek to withdraw Polish forces from Iraq.

Sunday's election brings to an end two years of conservative rule by Prime Minister Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski.

They pushed hard for a stronger Polish voice in the European Union, alienating some EU allies. They also opposed various EU regulations, including those on the environment.

President Kaczynski's current term ends in 2010. But his brother, the soon-to-be former prime minister, promises Law and Order will be a strong opposition during the next government.

Mr. Kaczynski called Sunday's election two years early when the previous government collapsed because of a corruption scandal.

VOA Note: Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Source: Voice of America

Technorati Tags: News World Government Poland Polish Politics Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski