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Polish Presidential Exit Poll Signals May 24 Runoff Vote

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Andrzej Duda, candidate of the conservative opposition Law and Justice party, receives a kiss from his wife Agata, right, as his daughter Kinga, left, watches, after the announcement of the first exit polls in the first round of the Polish presidential elections in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 10, 2015.
Andrzej Duda, candidate of the conservative opposition Law and Justice party, receives a kiss from his wife Agata, right, as his daughter Kinga, left, watches, after the announcement of the first exit polls in the first round of the Polish presidential elections in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, May 10, 2015.

A key exit poll indicates Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski will have finished second in Sunday's presidential elections, behind conservative challenger Andrzej Duda.

The poll, commissioned by Polish national media and released moments after voting closed, gives challenger Duda nearly 35 percent of Sunday's vote. Komorowski is shown winning just over 32 percent.

No official results have been released. But exit polling, if confirmed, will trigger a May 24 runoff between the top two vote-getters.

Ahead of the polls, analysts predicted a runoff, after what many pundits described as a lackluster campaign that focused on national security and domestic issues.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski greets supporters during a meeting ending his campaign ahead of a Sunday's presidential election, Warsaw, Poland, May 8, 2015.
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski greets supporters during a meeting ending his campaign ahead of a Sunday's presidential election, Warsaw, Poland, May 8, 2015.

Komorowski, a 62-year-old historian and former defense minister, was first elected in 2010 and campaigned for a second term largely on national security challenges, including heightened tensions with Russia spawned by the Ukraine crisis.

Duda campaigned on promises to lower Poland's retirement age. He also advocated tax cuts and warned of rising consumer prices, if Poland adopts the euro currency.

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