Run-off likely as voters split over Polish presidency

FREE market advocate Donald Tusk has won most votes in Poland's presidential election, but not enough to win outright, according to early exit polls.

State television said Mr Tusk had 38 per cent, followed by the other centre-right contender, Lech Kaczynski, with 32 per cent. A second poll will be held in two weeks if, as expected, no candidate gets the required 50 per cent of votes.

The parties of the two front-runners - in a race of 12 - won the election two weeks ago, underlining the decline of the former communists in a country that was part of the Soviet bloc only 16 years ago.

The leading contenders grew to political maturity as activists with the movement led by Lech Walesa in the 1980s and have campaigned on promises to fight corruption and the influence of ex-communists.

"It's good there are no major post-communists in this election," said Ewa Grzegorek, 58, who cast a ballot for Mr Tusk in Warsaw. "It's time to give a chance to the right now because even when the right had some power, the leftists were still there behind the scenes."

Despite shared hopes for clean governance, Mr Tusk and Mr Kaczynski present different economic visions for how far this new European Union member should go in dismantling the welfare state in a pursuit of economic growth.

Mr Tusk is a strongly pro-business MP who wants low taxes, deregulation and a limited economic role for the state. Mr Kaczynski advocates a strong state role in fighting the country's 18 per cent unemployment rate and in preserving welfare benefits.