(5 Nov 1995) Polish/Nat
Poles are voting (until 1900 GMT Sunday) to choose a new president in an election which could lead to a former Communist becoming head of state.
Current President Lech Walesa was behind in the opinion polls as voters took part in the first round of presidential elections.
But support in his ship building home town of Gdansk remains strong.
Polish President Lech Walesa was full of confidence as he cast his vote in his home town of Gdansk in northern Poland.
With his wife and young daughter Brygida he came to this small polling station a few hundred yards from his home.
Walesa made his name as leader of the Solidarity Trade Union at the shipyard which dominates the Gdansk skyline.
Before casting their votes, the Walesas attended Mass at their regular church, joining the family service.
Lech Walesa has been portrayed as the devout churchgoer backed by the influential Catholic Church.
But his popularity plunged during his five year term in office.
He's seen off six governments and been accused of splintering Solidarity and over-using his veto powers.
But voters in the historic town are standing by their man.
SOUNDBITE: Polish
Here at the Baltic Sea at Gdansk we all think he did a lot for us and we still support him.
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop.
In Warsaw the man he has to beat, reformed Communist Aleksander Kwasniewski ended what's been acclaimed as a sophisticated campaign which used the slogan "Let's choose the future" on hoardings all over Poland.
The leader of the Communist-led Democratic Alliance, which dominates parliament is eleven years younger than Walesa.
His comparative youth is attractive to younger voters who have few memories of Poland's totalitarian regime.
The former Communist sports minister led the opinion polls going into the election, though Walesa was catching up, the late surge widely attributed to supporters of minor candidates turning towards Walesa to keep Kwasniewski out.
In view of the former Communists' power in parliament, many Poles are concerned about what would happen if they were joined by a reformed Communist president.
Although there are 13 candidates on the ballot paper, it's effectively a head-to-head between the former Solidarity hero and the former Communist apparatchik.
Neither is expected to get the necessary 50 percent to win outright and so they'll face each other again on November 19th for a final runoff.
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