Łukasz Gibała led the first round of Kraków’s early mayoral election and will face Monika Piątkowska in a runoff scheduled for 11 October. Political scientist Rafał Chwedoruk said voters on the right contributed substantially to Gibała’s result.
Gibała received 93,042 votes, or 36.38%, in the first round. Piątkowska received 76,514 votes, representing 29.91%. Both candidates advanced to the second round.
Chwedoruk pointed to Gibała’s strong showing in Kraków’s Nowa Huta district and in the city’s small-town-like outer areas. He said residents there traditionally hold strongly conservative views. Gibała has previously been associated with Civic Platform and the Palikot Movement.
The analyst cautioned against treating the Kraków result as something that would necessarily be repeated nationally. He said the election could nonetheless offer a measure of how effectively political camps mobilize voters both against those in power and in support of them.
The early election was called after a May referendum in which residents voted to remove Mayor Aleksander Miszalski. Stanisław Kracik is performing the mayor’s duties until a successor is elected.
A poll by OGB for Polsat News and Newsmax Polska cited in the report suggested that, if the runoff were held on the coming Sunday, Gibała would receive more than 57% and Piątkowska nearly 30%. The article does not specify the poll’s fieldwork dates or methodology.