Poland voted in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday that opinion polls show will send front-runner and incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski into a runoff against a conservative opposition challenger.
A comfortable re-election for Komorowski would give a confidence boost to his allies in the centre-right Polish government, who face what will be a tightly fought race for another term later this year.
Komorowski, 62, has campaigned on a platform that he is a safe pair of hands on national security. That message has played well with voters nervous that after Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Poland could become the next target.
Barbara Gajewska, a 75-year-old pensioner at a polling station in Wegrow, 100 km (60 miles) east of the Polish capital, said she had voted for Komorowski.
"For me he is a moderate, balanced and in a way he has already been tested, whereas it's hard for me to believe in all the promises of the other candidates," she said.
In Poland, eastern Europe's biggest economy, the prime minister has the most powers, but the president wields clout as head of the armed forces, has a say in foreign policy and the power to veto legislation.
Polls give Komorowski around 40 percent support. His closest rival, Andrzej Duda, who is backed by the conservative opposition Law and Justice party, has about 30 percent, after closing the gap on Komorowski in the past few weeks.
Duda, 42, has campaigned on a promise to lower the retirement age and has warned that if Poland adopts the euro currency, something Komorowski has said he wants eventually to happen, the prices of goods in shops will go up.
The third-placed candidate, on about 15 percent, is Pawel Kukiz, a former rock musician who has picked up support from Poles who are disenchanted with mainstream politics.
Polling stations are open until 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). The first official results are not expected before late Monday.
If no candidate wins more than 50 percent, the two with the biggest share of the vote will compete in a second round on May 24. Pollsters predict Komorowski will win that round.
