Computer failure delays election results, Kaczynski could be Mayor of Warsaw

Now that the election results are slowly coming in, it is becoming clear that new conflicts may plague local governments. This is not only because in some councils no party has a clear majority or mandate to rule, but also due to the fact that in some towns and cities the newly elected Mayor is from a different party which is forming the new ruling council. A clear picture of the new local government political landscape cannot be determined as the final election results have not been announced as this is likely to still take a day or two. The delay is due to the failure of the computer system designed to count the votes. However, it is predicted that in some towns and cities (Koszalin, Opole, Lodz, Czestochowa) the leftist parties have lost control. In related news it seems that Lech Kaczynski won a large share of the vote in Warsaw and pushed his immediate rival, Andrzej Olechowski, into third place. As a result Olechowski declared he will not run for the P residency in 2005, but in contrast to earlier statements declared that he will not totally resign from his political activities. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. 1, 6)