Eight candidates contest Krakow mayoral race as six face off in televised debate

Televised debate in Warsaw

Six candidates seeking the mayoralty of Krakow are gathering in Warsaw for a special edition of the television program Śniadanie Rymanowskiego, broadcast by Polsat News and Interia. The broadcast, scheduled for Sunday morning at 09:55, is moderated by journalist Bogdan Rymanowski, a Krakow native who studied law at Jagiellonian University. The participating candidates are Michał Drewnicki from Law and Justice, independent councillor Łukasz Gibała representing Kraków dla Mieszkańców, Daria Gosek-Popiołek from the New Left, Jan Hoffman of the ReferendumKRK committee, Razem co-leader Aleksandra Owca, and Monika Piątkowska of the Ponad Podziałami committee. The agenda covers civil security and civil defense measures, including shelter readiness against potential Russian military threats. Candidates also address municipal policies regarding the transcription of foreign same-sex marriage certificates and strategies to manage urban wild boar populations.

Field of eight candidates

The televised meeting forms part of the campaign for Krakow's early mayoral election scheduled for 27 September 2026. Polling stations across the city will open from 07:00 to 21:00, with an eventual second round set for 11 October 2026 if no contender secures over 50% of valid votes. Eight candidates registered for the ballot after meeting the threshold of 3,000 supporting signatures by the 3 September deadline. Alongside the six debate participants, the ballot includes Michał Klimek of Confederation of the Polish Crown and Sławomir Pietrzyk of Social Democracy of Poland. Potential contenders who missed the ballot include Konfederacja candidate Bartosz Bocheńczak and former Supreme Audit Office president Marian Banaś, both of whom failed to collect sufficient signatures. The vote follows a municipal referendum organized by local groups that recalled former mayor Aleksander Miszalski from office.

Political friction and endorsements

Political friction intensified ahead of the vote, with prominent national figures entering the local campaign. Former Civic Platform deputy Stefan Niesiołowski travelled to Krakow to endorse Monika Piątkowska, who holds joint backing from Civic Coalition and the Polish People's Party. Niesiołowski publicly criticised front-runner Łukasz Gibała, accusing the wealthy entrepreneur of seeking to purchase political power in the municipality.

I am in Krakow, I supported Ms. Monika Piątkowska for the office of Mayor of Krakow. We have a bizarre situation here. A very wealthy businessman named Gibała is trying to buy this office. He needs it for something, but Krakow does not. Because this serves nationalists, that is why I am here.

Piątkowska is campaigning on a cross-party platform, whereas Gibała presents his bid through an independent municipal association. The race has also divided the Polish parliamentary left between Daria Gosek-Popiołek and Aleksandra Owca, who represent competing left-wing formations on the ballot.

Voter preferences in polling data

Public opinion polling reflects an unsettled electorate one week before voting begins. A survey conducted by SW Research for Wprost indicated that 34.2% of respondents remain undecided about their preferred candidate for the mayoral office. Among candidates with specific polling shares recorded in the survey, Jan Hoffman registered 5.8% of preferences, followed closely by Michał Klimek at 5.4%. Daria Gosek-Popiołek recorded 4.9%, Aleksandra Owca registered 3.8%, and Sławomir Pietrzyk polled at 1.7%. Furthermore, 4.3% of surveyed participants stated that none of the listed candidates should assume the municipal leadership.