Massive referendum removes mayor tied to Tusk’s party in Poland

A referendum held on Sunday, May 24, in Kraków, Poland, resulted in the dismissal of Mayor Aleksander Miszalski, according to Polish media.

In the vote, 171,581 people supported the recall of the representative of Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform party, while 3,631 voted against. Voter turnout reached 29.99%, exceeding the required threshold of 26.98%, which made the result legally valid.

Under Polish law, early mayoral elections must be held in Kraków within 90 days. Until then, the city will be governed by a commissioner appointed by the prime minister.

Miszalski said he views the outcome as a “lesson in local democracy” and thanked residents for the opportunity to lead Kraków, noting that not all decisions during his term were successful.

The referendum was initiated by a group of residents led by Jan Hoffman, joined by opposition politicians, including Miszalski’s electoral rival Łukasz Gibała, as well as representatives of the Law and Justice (PiS) and far-right Confederation parties.

Among the criticisms of the mayor were rising municipal debt, the introduction of a clean transport zone, increased public transport fares, and personnel decisions.

The result is seen as a political success for Law and Justice and Confederation, both of which announced plans to continue their campaign against liberal city administrations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada