Former defence minister among new senators

Bogdan Klich; photo - PR

Klich, who resigned his post on 28 July this year following the publication of Poland's official report on the Smolensk air disaster, claimed victory in one of the two senatorial seats in Krakow, southern Poland.

The former Solidarity activist, who was standing for the Civic Platform party - which he has represented since its inception in 2001 – appears to have defeated main rival Zbigniew Cichon of Law and Justice, with 73,200 to 41,800 in vote counts thus far.

The Civic Platform also won the other Cracovian seat, with Janusz Sepiol holding his place against prominent newcomer Zuzanna Kurtyka, widow of the former president of the Institute of National Remembrance, the state institution charged with investigating historical crimes against Polish citizens.

Kurtyka, whose husband perished in the Smolensk air tragedy, stood for Law and Justice, but unofficial figures declare that she lost by a wide margin with 36.4 percent of the vote.

However, Beata Gosiewska, who also lost her husband (former Law and Justice MP Przemyslaw Gosiewski) in Smolensk, managed to win a seat for Law and Justice in the Kielce region, south east Poland.

Elsewhere, official results have confirmed that veteran film director Kazimierz Kutz won a decisive victory as an independent candidate in the southern city of Katowice, taking 81,662 votes against 32,905 for Law and Justice candidate Jan Wojtyla.

Overall, the Civic Platform has dominated in the Senate once again, as it has done in the Sejm (lower house of parliament). Of the 100 seats in the Senate, the Civic Platform has taken 62, Law and Justice 31 and the Polish Peasant's Party 2. The five remaining seats went to independents and fringe parties. (nh)

Source: PAP