President's twin to run for office

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the late Polish President, has declared he will run as the candidate for the conservative Law and Justice party in Poland's June presidential election, saying he wanted to complete his brother's "mission".

Lech Kaczynski was killed together with his wife and 94 senior Polish officials in an air crash in western Russia on 10 April.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a former prime minister, had been expected to step into his brother's shoes following the crash. "We are required to overcome our personal pain and take on this mission. That is why I have taken the decision to run for president," he said.

However, opinion polls show that Poland's acting President, Bronislaw Komorowski of the country's centrist Civic Platform, is the clear favourite to win the election. Mr Kaczynski, a controversial right-wing politician, is predicted to win no more than 25 per cent of the vote.

Mr Kaczynski's campaign is expected to play on public sympathy for the late presidential couple. "In reality it won't be him [Jaroslaw] running, it will be his brother," said Kryzsztof Bobinksi, a Polish political analyst.