Donald Tusk has won the most votes in Poland's presidential election, putting him in the leading position for a 23 October run-off against conservative Lech Kaczynski.
Two exit polls gave Tusk, a free-market enthusiast, around 38% of the vote - a slight lead over runner-up Kaczynski.
Mr Kaczynski campaigned hard on a promise of a 'moral revolution' and a return to Christian values in the new member state of the European Union.
Donald Tusk's failure to secure an outright majority means the race to succeed outgoing President Aleksander Kwasniewski must go to the second round.
Tusk and Kaczynski were well ahead of the other 10 candidates, cementing a swing to the right in Poland after their parties, heirs to the pro-democracy Solidarity movement, trounced the ruling left in parliamentary polls last month.
The presidential rivalry between Tusk and Kaczynski has complicated efforts by their parties to form a coalition government and agree a programme Poland needs to revive growth and cut unemployment.
Mirroring an EU-wide debate, Tusk's Civic Platform and Kaczynski's Law and Justice party are at odds over how far to push free-market reforms and how much welfare the EU's biggest new member can afford.
