By Gabriela Baczynska and Patryk Wasilewski
Warsaw - Prime Minister Donald Tusk's candidate won Poland's presidential poll but the narrowness of the victory cast doubt on the government's ability to carry out unpopular reforms ahead of a 2011 parliamentary election.
Bronislaw Komorowski, a moderate conservative from Tusk's Civic Platform party (PO), won 53.0 percent of votes in Sunday's poll, final official results showed, after a cliff-hanger vote that saw his right-wing rival Jaroslaw Kaczynski perform much better than expected.
Turnout was 55.3 percent, higher than in a first round on June 20, despite the start of the summer vacation period.
Political analysts said the unexpected closeness of the presidential race, the prospect of looming local elections and the parliamentary vote next year could lead Tusk to take a cautious approach to introducing painful economic reforms.
Komorowski's win was "market positive", Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients. "However, these reforms look increasingly unlikely to happen quickly as local and parliamentary elections are approaching."
In Poland, the government sets policies, but the president can propose and veto laws, has a say on foreign policy issues and appoints key state officials.
The ruling Civic Platform faces an elevated budget deficit, high public debt, a public health system in disarray and an inefficient pension system. Changes in the pension system could hit farmers, miners and teachers, among others.
Kaczynski, who heads the main right-wing opposition party and was vying to succeed his twin brother Lech whose death in a plane crash in April precipitated the vote, scored 47 percent, final results announced by the election commission showed.
Lech Kaczynski vetoed some of Tusk's reforms in the past. - Reuters