(22 Sep 1997) Polish/Nat
Leaders of a reborn Solidarity claimed a surprise victory in parliamentary elections on Sunday, ending a four year period in opposition.
Solidarity, which won 189 seats in the 460-member Sejm according to preliminary results, will now have to choose partners to form a coalition.
The polls, which fluctuated throughout the night, indicated a voter turnout of about 59 percent.
After 16 hours of balloting, voting stations closed at 10 p.m. (08:00 GMT) on Sunday and the counting began.
The polls, by the end of the evening, showed that nearly 60 percent of the population had voted.
Few expected a clear election winner.
On the eve of the elections, most opinion polls and the parties themselves had predicted a neck-and-neck finish.
According to exit polls for Polish television, Solidarity Election Action (AWS) captured nearly 33 percent of the vote compared to 27 percent for the ruling Democratic Leftist Alliance, the former communists.
Former President Lech Walesa used to head the Solidarity Movement before he was defeated as leader two years ago.
While Krzaklewski is credited with uniting the splintered Solidarity factions, Walesa has positioned himself to broker a deal with the most likely Solidarity ally, the Freedom Union.
SOUNDBITE: (Polish)
"It was a time when we overestimated a pluralism. And the post communists used this moment, they organised themselves and this unification brought them success. And now we will do the same and it will bring us even bigger success."
SUPER CAPTION: Former Polish President, Lech Walesa
Without an outright majority in the 460-seat Sejm, Solidarity will now need to choose its coalition partners.
If Solidarity succeeds in forming a government, it will share power with President Aleksander Kwasniewski of the Democratic Leftist Alliance of former communists.
The announcement of the exit polls sparked a celebration at Solidarity headquarters.
SOUNDBITE: (Polish)
"I'm simply very happy because this shows that we were efficient and we managed to overcome the problems of the last few years where we lost in different elections and referenda. This is a great day."
SUPER CAPTION: Head of Solidarity Coalition AWS, Marian Krzaklewski
The cohabitation is not likely to be as contentious as previous periods in Polish politics.
Despite controversy over such issues as privatization, both applaud NATO's decision to extend membership to Poland and both want to see Poland join the European Union.
Political analysts said Solidarity's election victory was due to its success in quieting internal disagreements.
SOUNDBITE: (Polish)
"We were confident with the power we had. We led the electoral campaign in the style of a small party. Instead the whole country should have campaigned in a great style."
SUPER CAPTION: Spokesman for the SLD, Andrzej Urbanczyk
Final election results are not expected until Wednesday.
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