With nearly all the votes counted, Poland's centrist Civic Platform Party has won national elections, gaining nearly 40 percent of the vote.

The party of incumbent Prime Minister Donald Tusk looks set to take 206 seats in parliament, with its junior coalition partner, the Peasants' Party, taking 30.

It is the first time in Poland since the collapse of communism 22 years ago that a sitting prime minister has won re-election.

Tusk promised to press ahead with gradual economic reforms and closer ties with the European Union.

"I want to thank all Poles who proved that ... all those four years had a deeper meaning for Poland, for all Poles and for Civic Platform," Tusk said at a rally after polling stations closed. "Tomorrow will come the first (coalition) talks, but we will still wait for official results."

Kaczynski said he would stay in politics with an eye to running once again

Tusk told ecstatic supporters that "the coming four years will see an even more crucial challenge, because we will have to work twice as hard and act twice as fast."

Not bowing out

The opposition Law and Justice Party of former premier Jaroslaw Kaczynski finished second with just over 30 percent of the vote, forcing them to concede defeat.

Kaczynski, brother of former President Lech Kaczynski, who died last year in a tragic plane crash in Russia, vowed to continue his drive for office despite losing out this time around.

"We remain convinced that Poland wants major change," Kaczynski said. "We need to convince millions of Poles."

"Our day of victory will come," he pledged.

Author: Darren Mara (AFP, dpa)

Editor: David Levitz