Election poll: So the Polish voters voted

National Conservative incumbent President Andrzej Duda or challenger Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw's liberal mayor. That was the question beforehand when Poland went to elections on Sunday.

The polling stations opened at seven o'clock on Sunday morning - and closed at 21. Shortly thereafter, a first polling poll was published - which shows that the election looks extremely smooth.

Andrzej Duda receives 50.4 percent of the vote and Rafal Trzaskowski 49.6 percent, according to the poll conducted by the Ipsos opinion poll.

- I want to thank everyone who voted for me, including the critics, says Andrzej Duda on Sunday night according to Reuters.

Göran von Sydow, head of the Swedish Institute for European Political Studies (SEPS), points out that the results of the poll are far too uniform for a winner to be declared, but says that it nevertheless indicates the divide within Polish society.

- There are really two contrasts that have stood against each other, and it seems to be a very tight end. It is remarkable, and without anticipating the final outcome, it will be a shudder and a rather difficult situation given that there have been such sharp contradictions, says von Sydow.

Stefan Ingvarsson, Sweden's former cultural council in Moscow and Polish painters, points out that the many foreign votes can determine the final result.

- There is a big joker in this election, and it is the foreign votes that will mean a lot. There are several million Poles living abroad, in the first round of voting voted about half a million. This is really the tongue on the scale, says Ingvarsson.

The AFP News Agency reports that turnout was high, without providing any figures. Ipsos states that the margin of error is two percent for both candidates. The final result is expected on Monday.