Poland votes in a snap election

People in Poland are voting in general elections called two years early, after the collapse of the ruling coalition in a row over a corruption investigation.

Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice Party is being challenged by the Civic Platform, led by centre right rival Donald Tusk.

Both parties have their roots in the anti-communist Solidarity movement.

Some Poles still believe a coalition between them would give Poland its best chance of stable government.

Some are calling these elections the most important since the fall of Communism in 1989.

Polarised
Poland is a country polarised between supporters and opponents of Mr Kaczynski, says the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw.

The 58-year-old prime minister believes the state is broken and he is the first politician to try to mend it, he says.

He has done this by giving extra power to anti-corruption agencies while purging former communists.

Mr Kaczynski has also promoted an assertive foreign policy and traditional Catholic values.

Among his supporters, Andrzej Sulkowski said he voted for Law and Justice "because this party is telling the truth and doing something".

"In their two years of government they did what they could," he told the Associated Press news agency.

But Mr Kaczynski's policies and style are not to the taste of many better-off and well-educated city dwellers, who prefer the pro-business Civic Platform party of Donald Tusk.

"I didn't like being talked down to for the last two years," Jan Zawisz, told Reuters news agency in Warsaw, as he voted for Mr Tusk's Platform.

Another Tusk supporter, Adam Lutostanski, complained that the prime minister and his supporters were "too Church-oriented".

Disillusionment
In the 18 years since the end of Communism, the country has had 12 different prime ministers.

It is this instability which partly explains why people here have become so disillusioned with democratic politics so quickly, says our Warsaw correspondent.

On Saturday, a leading Polish newspaper warned of low turnout and voter apathy.

Much of the front page of the Gazeta Wyborcza was left blank, in a symbolic representation of the 60% of voters who failed to turn out for the parliamentary election two years ago.

Polls opened at 0600 (0400 GMT), and were to close at 2000 (1800 GMT), but voting has been extended as some polling stations ran out of ballot papers, officials said.

Full results may not be known until Monday or Tuesday.
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 October 2007, 18:43 GMT
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BACKGROUND:
http://poland.gov.pl/?document=395
STATISTICS ON U.S. VOTING TURNOUT:
http://www.nonprofitvote.org/wp-content/uploads/AGttP.pdf
http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
Why do you think a high turnover of leaders (Polish Prime Ministers, in this case)leads to a decrease in voter turnout?

Why do you think many statistics show that fewer than 50% of eligible voters in the U.S. vote?

Do you plan on registering to vote as soon as you turn 18? Why or Why not?

How important is voting to you?
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