Kaczynski twin fails in his bid to take the Polish presidency

A CENTRE-right politician and former historian is on the verge of becoming the new president of Poland after exit polls gave him a narrow victory in the country's presidential elections.

Exit polls gave Bronislaw Komorowski, an ally of Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, 6 per cent and 1 per cent leads over Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the only other candidate and the bereaved twin of Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president who died in a plane crash in April.

Although holding just a slim lead in the polls, a jubilant Mr Komorowski appeared confident that he had scuppered Mr Kaczynski's goal of filling his brother's shoes and becoming the Polish president.

"This is a victory for Polish democracy," Mr Komorowski told cheering supporters at his campaign headquarters. "The ballots are being counted. We're opening a small bottle of champagne today, and we'll open a big one tomorrow," he said.

He pledged that as president he would serve all Poles and recalled that the voting was forced by national tragedy.

"We thank everybody - the more so that it was an unusual campaign," Mr Komorowski, 58, said.

As an indication that he has accepted defeat, Mr Kaczynski congratulated his rival, and told supporters that "there will be other elections to fight" and that we have to "mobilise" for them.

Originally due in the autumn, the elections were brought forward after the plane carrying president Kaczynski, his wife and 94 others crashed as it tried to land in Smolensk airport in western Russia, killing all on board.

The accident cast a long shadow over the campaign with both candidates refraining from personal attacks and maintaining a cordial spirit, which contrasted sharply with the mud-slinging that had marked previous elections in Poland.

Mr Komorowski also has to fight his campaign from the unusual position of being acting head of state after the Polish constitution elevated him from parliamentary speaker to national leader following the Smolensk disaster.

If the actual result, which is due today, reflects the exit polls it will come as welcome news for the government of Donald Tusk.His ministers had warned that a victory for Mr Kaczynski would lead to the resumption of a war over foreign and domestic policy between president and government that raged during the term of president Lech Kaczynski.

But with Mr Komorowski looking set to enter the presidential palace, the president and the government in Poland should now work in tandem.

Mr Komorowski, a historian who in the 1980s spent time in prison for opposing Poland's communist government, supports the government's goals of reining in public spending and pushing though a privatisation programme.

In contrast to Mr Kaczynski, who has often had a prickly relationship with Germany and Russia, Poland's large neighbours, Mr Komorowski also supports the government's open and conciliatory policy towards the country's historical foes.

But Mr Kaczynski can take heart from the election result that appears to have re-established him as a political force.

Before the crash he was regarded as one of Poland's least-trusted politicians, and had still failed to recover from a disastrous stint as prime minister from 2006 to 2007 that resulted in his Law and Justice party suffering a heavy defeat in parliamentary elections.

Following the disaster, the conservative, staunch Roman Catholic portrayed himself as a softer and more amiable character, willing to work with his opponents and unite the country.