Kraków electoral commission registers Łukasz Gibała for snap mayoral election after signature dispute

Gibała overcomes signature deficit

The Kraków municipal electoral commission formally registered city councillor Łukasz Gibała as an official candidate in the early mayoral election. Gibała, who leads the Kraków dla Mieszkańców association and its group in the city council, declared nearly 14,700 supporting signatures after a rapid signature drive. The candidate faced disqualification after the commission rejected 3,200 of his initial 5,500 signatures on Monday due to the omission of the word "Kraków" in voter addresses, leaving 1,613 valid entries. Commission head Krzysztof Dyl noted that while clerical errors occurred on multiple candidate lists, the scale in Gibała's initial filing was unusual. Gibała's campaign gathered approximately 9,000 replacement signatures before the Thursday 16:00 submission deadline.

Gibała addressed the commission's registration in a statement published on social media on Friday evening.

The electoral commission officially registered my candidacy today in the early election for the mayor of Kraków. None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you once again.

Validated candidates and polling standings

Gibała joins four other contenders whose applications cleared the statutory threshold of 3,000 valid resident signatures with required data, including PESEL identification numbers. The commission previously approved Michał Drewnicki of Law and Justice (PiS), Monika Piątkowska backed by Civic Coalition (KO) and the Polish People's Party (PSL), independent candidate Jan Hoffman, and Aleksandra Owca of Partia Razem. This election marks Gibała's fourth consecutive mayoral bid, following third-place finishes in 2014 and 2018, and a narrow second-round defeat to Aleksander Miszalski in 2024. Gibała, a former member of parliament for Platforma Obywatelska and Ruch Palikota, currently leads municipal polling. A survey conducted by SW Research for Gazeta Krakowska measured his support at 25.1%, followed by Piątkowska at 12.0%.

Rejections and pending verifications

The electoral commission issued resolutions on Friday afternoon rejecting two candidacies that failed to secure the required support. Stanisław Kułach submitted 382 signatures and Marta Ratuszyńska submitted 80 signatures, leading to immediate disqualification for failing to meet the 3,000 signature mark. Electoral officials are currently verifying lists submitted by five other candidates who met the filing deadline. The pending group includes former Supreme Audit Office president Marian Banaś, Bartosz Bocheńczak of Konfederacja, Daria Gosek-Popiołek of Lewica, Michał Klimek of Konfederacja Korony Polskiej, and Sławomir Pietrzyk of Socjaldemokracja Polska. Bocheńczak submitted 4,640 signatures, though commission reviews indicated that the volume of valid entries remained uncertain.

Municipal election schedule

The snap vote follows a municipal referendum held in May, in which Kraków residents voted to recall Aleksander Miszalski from the mayor's office. Stanisław Kracik is currently serving as acting mayor until the election concludes. A total of 12 candidates submitted paperwork out of 24 registered electoral committees before Thursday's deadline. Krzysztof Dyl announced that the commission intends to conclude the review of all remaining candidate lists by Monday at 16:00, issuing final registration or rejection decisions. The official alphabetical list of certified candidates will be published no later than 14 September.

The first round of voting is set for 27 September 2026, with a second round scheduled two weeks later if no candidate secures an outright majority.