Polish president wins second term

Mr Kwasniewski wants EU membership for Poland

Poland's president, an ex-communist turned social democrat, has easily been elected for a second term, according to the state electoral commission.

Aleksander Kwasniewski, 46, is the first president since the country's transition to democracy in 1989 to be voted in for another term.

Polish presidential election

Aleksander Kwasniewski: 53.90%

Andrzej Olechowski: 17.30%

Marian Krzaklewski: 15.57%

Jaroslaw Kalinowski: 5.96%

Mr Kwasniewski, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) candidate, scored 53.90% of Sunday's vote, official figures showed.

Trailing far behind him was former foreign minister Andrzej Olechowski, who won 17.30% of the votes, followed by the ruling AWS-Solidarity coalition's candidate, Marian Krzaklewski.

The leader of the opposition Polish Peasant Party (PSL), Jaroslaw Kalinowski, came in fourth with 5.96 percent of votes.

The remaining seven candidates received less than 4% of the vote between them.

Leszek Miller, head of the SLD, said: "It's a knockout."

EU entry

Andrzej Olechowski: 17% of vote

Mr Kwasniewski, who has been congratulated by the presidents of Russia and Germany, said the biggest challenge of his second five-year term would be to ensure Poland's entry into the European Union.

"Poles must prepare themselves for the European Union to be able to meet this challenge," he told supporters to roaring applause at the electoral headquarters.

Correspondents say that Mr Krzaklewski's poor showing increases pressure for an early general election, due late next year.

Former president Lech Walesa, who led the Solidarity movement that toppled Polish communism, gained less than 1% of votes.

Atheist

The top issue in the campaign has been Mr Kwasniewski himself.

Voting was brisk

Some opponents have pointed to his communist past, while others have said that as a declared atheist he has no business representing Catholic Poland.

But these issues were also raised five years ago when Mr Kwasniewski narrowly defeated Mr Walesa in a second round run-off.

Correspondents say President Kwasniewski's moderate image is popular with Polish voters.

By contrast, Mr Krzaklewski is fighting for his political life.

Many Poles associate him with deeply unpopular economic reforms, pushed through by the Solidarity-led government, which President Kwasniewski has sharply criticised.

Europe

Mr Kwasniewski, who presided over Poland's entry to Nato last year, has said that if the country joins the European Union during his next term of office, he will die a happy man.

Poland is a leading candidate for membership, with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair reaffirming his support in Warsaw this week.

Poland hopes to join the EU in 2003. But Brussels officials say that 2005 is the bloc's earliest realistic expansion date.