Warsaw mayoral recall referendum initiative falls short after collecting 111,000 signatures

Signature shortfall ends recall drive

An effort to dismiss Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and the Warsaw City Council has ended after organizers fell short of the statutory signature threshold. On 28 September 2026, representatives of the civic initiative Stołeczna Operacja Referendalna gathered on the square in front of Kino Muranów, the site where the campaign began, to announce the final count. Over the 60-day collection period between 30 July and 28 September 2026, volunteers collected 111,000 signatures from Warsaw residents across roughly 30 reams of paper. To trigger a municipal recall vote, Polish law required the group to collect signatures from at least 10% of eligible voters in Warsaw, representing approximately 132,000 individuals out of an electorate exceeding 1.3 million. Because the total fell short of the legal requirement, organizers confirmed they will not submit the signature sheets to the electoral commissioner.

Grievances and political tensions

The petition drive was initiated by Maciej Wilk, who also serves as head of the Tak dla CPK association. The direct catalyst for launching the recall effort stemmed from municipal management disputes surrounding Południowy Hospital. Organizers also cited several broader grievances against city leadership, including political patronage in administrative appointments, delays and cost increases across municipal investment projects, and housing shortages. Campaign leaders further criticized Trzaskowski for divided attention between municipal governance and his participation in two national presidential election campaigns. Volunteers logged approximately 15,000 working hours in the streets across all city districts during the two-month effort.

There will be no referendum in Warsaw, which does not change the fact that in my assessment something exceptional has happened over the past two months.

Reactions from City Hall and organizers

Following the announcement, Wilk expressed disappointment over the absence of assistance from opposition political parties, noting that Law and Justice (PiS) did not engage in the signature drive even within its own party structures. He stated that the campaign operated without party machinery or substantial funding, while announcing that the initiative will transition into the Stołeczna Organizacja Rozwoju to monitor municipal policy and City Hall administration. Trzaskowski responded to the outcome in a statement published on social media, thanking residents for their trust and pledging continued work on city development plans. The mayor also addressed petition signatories directly, stating he will work to give critical residents reasons for pride in the capital in the coming years.

Before me are more than two years in the office of Mayor of Warsaw, two more years of work on the implementation of city development plans.

Historical precedent in the capital

The city has experienced a mayoral recall referendum once before, in October 2013, when voters faced a ballot on the dismissal of then-mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. That 2013 initiative was driven by public discontent over public transport organization, transit ticket price increases, waste collection reforms, and construction delays affecting the second metro line and Most Północny. The 2013 referendum failed to reach legal validity because voter turnout reached only 25.66%, falling short of the required 30% participation threshold at the time. Under current statutory rules, any valid municipal recall referendum requires a turnout equal to three-fifths of the voters from the previous local election, which equates to roughly 450,000 voters in Warsaw.