Krakow election commission rejects Marian Banas and reviews contested candidate lists

Verification of candidate signatures

The Krakow Municipal Electoral Commission (MKW) has entered the final phase of verifying voter signatures submitted for the early mayoral election scheduled for 27 September 2026. To secure a place on the official ballot, each candidate was required to collect and submit at least 3,000 valid signatures from adult Krakow residents holding active voting rights. The snap election follows a May recall referendum in which city voters removed former mayor Aleksander Miszalski from office, leaving former deputy mayor Stanisław Kracik to serve as acting mayor. Out of 24 registered election committees, twelve submitted candidate nomination packages before the 3 September filing deadline. The verification procedure requires municipal clerks and election officials to authenticate citizen identification data, including national identification numbers and municipal residency records.

Rejection of Marian Banas

Former head of the Supreme Audit Office Marian Banaś failed to qualify after the commission invalidated more than half of the signatures submitted on his behalf. According to the official resolution, election officials inspected 5,648 signatures presented by his committee and identified 3,096 invalid entries, leaving 2,552 valid endorsements. This total left Banaś 448 signatures below the statutory threshold required to appear on the ballot. The rejected candidate announced that his campaign committee will lodge an appeal with the electoral commissioner and request an in-person recount alongside committee representatives.

Marian Banaś addressed the commission's finding in a public statement on Monday.

Such a huge number of questioned signatures raises our serious doubts. Behind each of them stands a specific resident of Krakow who consciously gave me their support. We cannot allow the voice of thousands of Cracovians to be ignored without a full and transparent explanation.

Contested status of other campaigns

The qualification status of Confederation candidate Bartosz Bocheńczak remains unresolved despite widespread reports indicating his initial disqualification. Bocheńczak stated that his campaign delivered 4,960 signatures to the commission, but preliminary reviews indicated that approximately 2,950 signatures were accepted, leaving him roughly 50 endorsements short. Reports indicated that a substantial portion of rejected signatures belonged to individuals residing in municipalities surrounding Krakow rather than within the city proper. Commission chairman Krzysztof Józef Dyl confirmed on Monday afternoon that election staff are conducting a second review of contested lists before announcing a final determination on Tuesday, 8 September.

Krzysztof Józef Dyl clarified the status of the ongoing signature inspection.

We have doubts about some support lists and we are checking them.

Registered contenders and procedural timetable

In addition to Bocheńczak, the commission is completing signature verifications for Daria Gosek-Popiołek of the New Left and Sławomir Pietrzyk. The commission has already approved the registration of six mayoral contenders, including Michał Drewnicki, independent candidate Łukasz Gibała, Jan Hoffman, Michał Klimek, Aleksandra Owca, and Monika Piątkowska. Earlier in the process, several other prospective candidates fell short, including Stanisław Kułach who presented 400 declared signatures and Maria Raduszyńska who submitted 78. Candidates whose registrations are formally denied hold two days to lodge an appeal with the electoral commissioner, who then has two days to issue a binding decision. The municipal commission will publish the official alphabetical list of registered candidates by 14 September before polling stations open on 27 September.