Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of Poland’s late President, gathered some 1,650,000 signatures of support for his campaign in the Presidential elections, his commission said on Thursday.
“I wanted to cordially thank everyone who gathered signatures, and everyone who signed, and everyone who showed support and kindness,” Mr. Jaroslaw Kaczynski told reporters in what was his first political speech since his brother’s death in a plane crash in Russia.
“We’re united by the conviction that Poland has the right to dream that it will be strong, that it will count in the world and be just and proud,” he continued.
Mr. Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced his candidacy on April 26. His conservative Law and Justice party had until this week to gather a minimum of 100,000 signatures of support.
Presidential elections are to be held early and have been scheduled for June 20, following the plane crash in Smolensk, Russia last month that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, including senior Polish political and military figures.
Presidential Candidate Bronislaw Komorowski, who is also the acting President, is leading in the polls with some 45 per cent of the votes, said a survey this week by TVN 24 . Mr. Jaroslaw Kaczynski is second with some 30 per cent of votes, said the survey of some 1,000 adults.
