The statistics indicate that almost 38,000 American Poles registered to vote in Poland's presidential elections that were held in the United States on Saturday, June 19th. Most of the people who singed up to vote were in Chicago and New York.

The increased interest in the elections was undoubtedly fueled by the April plane crash near Smolensk, in which Polish President Lech Kaczynski died, along almost 100 other people, who accompanied him on the trip to Katyn.

Unlike the Poles at home, who cast more votes for Civic Platform candidate Bronislaw Komorowski, the Poles in America decidedly wanted Jaroslaw Kaczynski for president, the deceased president's twin brother. Komorowski, unable to obtain a majority, will face Kaczynski, the Law and Justice candidate, in the run-offs.

The tragically deceased president was the favorite of the American Polonia when he ran for his first term five years ago. Now, our community expressed their support for his twin brother. In Chicago, in New York and in most of other regions in America where Poles had a chance to go to polls, Jaroslaw Kaczynski won with the majority of the votes. His opponent, Komorowski, was favored by voters in Washington, San Francisco, San Diego, Portland, and in Alaska, where voting polls were set up for the first time. The other [eight] candidates on the ballot got significantly fewer votes.

According to the National Voting Commission, almost 100,000 Poles living outside of Poland were expected to vote in this presidential election. Wladyslaw Zachariasiewicz, 100-years-old and an elder representative of the U.S. Polish community, accurately summarized the American Poles' motivation to vote. "I have been voting since Poland became Poland. I have never stopped being interested in the situation in our country. It is not our duty to show Poland what to do, but we have a right to our opinion and friendly advice, not lecturing, and we should exercise this right," he said.

Many Poles agree that it is their civic responsibility to vote, and others plan to go back to Poland one day, and want to have a say in what is going on there. Some were so determined to vote that they did not hesitate to spend hours (nine, in some cases) driving to the nearest voting place.

The increased participation in the elections indicates a stronger engagement of Poles in the political life back home. Let's remember, however, that the 38,000 people who registered to vote this time represent just a fraction of the nine million individuals of Polish origin who live on the American soil. What is more, the decision on who will be the next president of Poland is in the hands of the voters living in Poland.

Beyond engaging in politics in Poland, it is crucial for Poles here to actively participate in the November U.S. elections. Only when we demonstrate our political power will we gain authentic respect from American legislators and the White House. We will also be able to do more for ourselves and will become effective ambassadors of Poland's interests.