Former prime minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz has become the new favourite in the Polish presidential election, according to a poll by GFK published in Rzeczpospolita. 28 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) member.
Cimoszewicz headed the government from February 1996 to October 1997, and is the current speaker of the Diet. He announced his candidacy on Jun. 28.
Warsaw mayor Lech Kaczynski of the Law and Justice Party (PiS) is second with 19 per cent, followed by Self-Defence of the Polish Republic (SRP) leader Andrzej Lepper with 17 per cent, Centre (C) party senator Zbigniew Religa with 15 per cent, Civic Platform (PO) leader Donald Tusk with 11 per cent, and Marek Borowski of the Social Democracy of Poland (SDP) with five per cent.
SLD member Aleksander Kwasniewski has been Poland’s head of state since 1995. The election is scheduled for Oct. 9. If no candidate garners more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off would take place on Oct. 23.
In prospective second round scenarios, Cimoszewicz holds a 10 per cent lead over Religa, a 14 per cent edge over Kaczynski, and a 28 per cent advantage over both Lepper and Tusk.
Cimoszewicz ran for president in 1990, garnering 9.21 per cent of all cast ballots. Solidarity leader Lech Walesa eventually defeated Canadian businessman Stanislaw Tyminski in a run-off.
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