Poland was on its way back into the heart of Europe last night, 14 years after the fall of communism, as voters decided to join the European Union.
Exit polls showed that around 57 per cent of voters turned out to cast their ballot in the historic referendum, validating the poll, with 82 per cent of votes in favour of joining the EU.
"Today we have returned to the European family. We are returning to the place Poland belongs," said a smiling President Aleksander Kwasniewski.
Prime Minister Mr Leszek Miller, looking exhausted but relieved, said he "bowed before the wisdom and greatness of the Polish people".
The referendum result is a welcome boost to Mr Miller's beleaguered minority government and allows him to ratify Poland's treaty with the EU, signed at the EU summit in Athens last April to clear the way to accession next year.
Mr Kwasniewski said the phone hadn't stopped ringing since the polls closed at 8 p.m. (local time), as heads of state called with their congratulations. He told Polish television that one of the first to call was Irish MEP, Mr Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, who had a simple greeting: "Welcome home".
Mr Kwasniewski praised Pope John Paul, "our great countryman and adviser", who told Poles they belonged in Europe. The president also thanked all Poles for taking part in the referendum and said he hoped those who voted against would one day change their mind about the EU.
"It shows that when it's about something important the Poles can mobilise themselves, even if it is at the last minute," he said with a sardonic smile at the end of an anxious weekend. By Saturday evening, less than one fifth of the country's 29 million registered voters had cast their ballots, as political observers speculated that extremely good weather, traditional voter apathy and general lack of knowledge about the EU were keeping people away from the ballot boxes.
But yesterday saw a surge as Poles turned out to cast their votes in a post-Mass tradition. The first official results were expected shortly after midnight with final results expected early this evening.
"It was worth it not sleeping on Saturday," said Ms Renate Huber, the Polish Europe Minister. "Poland has done something huge, we've passed the test." Had less than half of voters turned out, the poll would have been invalid and the decision of EU accession would have fallen to the Polish parliament.
"It's very important that we all decided it and didn't leave it to parliament and the elites," said Ms Huber.
Across Warsaw and across the vast country, jubilant Poles partied until late into the night.
Mr Michal Polonski, a freelance designer in Warsaw, summed up the mood: "I feel wonderful and relieved, but right until the last minute I was unsure."
Despite a closely-observed election blackout, Polish media began a last-minute push yesterday to get people out to vote. Gazeta Wyborcza, the country's leading newspaper, published a special free edition yesterday to warn voters of the low turnout on Saturday. Poland's mobile phone companies sent over 10 million text messages reminding their customers to vote.
Last night the No side announced they would go to court to challenge what it called "breaches of the election news blackout".
"Ninety nine per cent of the media were in the hands of the euro-enthuiasts," said a spokesman for the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families.
