171,581 voters (97.93%) backed removing Miszalski, with turnout at 29.99% — just above the 26.98% validity threshold.
Exit polling showed 28.3% of voters cited the SCT, introduced on 1 January 2026, as their primary reason for voting against the mayor.
PM Tusk named Stanisław Kracik, Miszalski's deputy for infrastructure, as commissioner to run Kraków until the snap election.
The electoral code requires a vote within 90 days; the deadline falls on 23 August 2026. The winner serves until 2029.
Opposition leaders cast the result as a warning to Tusk's government, while KO figures acknowledged tactical errors in the campaign.
Aleksander Miszalski's tenure as mayor of Kraków ended on Tuesday after the official publication of the referendum results in the Małopolska provincial journal. Voters overwhelmingly backed his removal, with 171,581 (97.93%) voting in favour and only 3,631 (2.07%) against. Turnout reached 29.99%, clearing the required validity threshold of 26.98%. The referendum was triggered by a citizens' initiative that gathered nearly 134,000 signatures, later backed by opposition parties including Law and Justice (PiS) and Confederation, as well as the local group Kraków for Residents led by Łukasz Gibała.
Exit polling by Ogólnopolska Grupa Badawcza and Stan360 for Polsat News identified the introduction of the Clean Transport Zone (SCT) as the single biggest factor, cited by 28.3% of those who voted to remove the mayor. The city's debt level was the second most important reason at 22%, followed by concerns over nepotism and the management of municipal companies at 14.3%. The SCT, which came into force on 1 January 2026, proved particularly mobilising among right-leaning voters, with 31.4% of that group naming it as their key motivation.
In his first press conference since the vote, the former mayor struck a conciliatory tone.
“I respect, accept, and with full humility receive the verdict of the residents. I am not happy, I am not rejoicing, but that is democracy.”
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced before a cabinet meeting that Stanisław Kracik, the 75-year-old third deputy mayor responsible for infrastructure and investment, would serve as commissioner.
“In connection with the decision taken by residents in the referendum, Aleksander Miszalski has ceased to be mayor of Kraków. In his place, until a new mayor is elected, the role of commissioner will be filled by Stanisław Kracik.”
Opposition figures framed the result as a blow to Tusk's government. PiS candidate for prime minister Przemysław Czarnek called it "the beginning of a great wave that will sweep through Poland and end with Tusk's departure," while former PM Mateusz Morawiecki posted "Today Miszalski – next year Tusk." German journalist Gabriele Lesser, writing in Die Tageszeitung, described the outcome as a "serious blow" for Tusk, noting that Cracovians had grown tired of party arrangements, significant city debt, and rising public transport costs. Within KO, MP Mariusz Witczak criticised Miszalski's tactic of demobilising his own voters as a mistake. Professor Szymon Ossowski of Adam Mickiewicz University assessed the result as a tailwind for PiS and Confederation and a prestige problem for KO, while also highlighting systemic pathologies in the referendum process.
Under the electoral code, a snap election must be held within 90 days of the referendum result's publication, setting a deadline of 23 August 2026. The winner will complete Miszalski's original term, serving until the next local elections in 2029. Early speculation about potential KO candidates has focused on Bogdan Klich, a former senator and MEP, among others. The City Council survived the referendum due to insufficient turnout on that ballot question.
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Aleksander Miszalski has officially ceased to be mayor of Kraków after a decisive referendum vote, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk naming Stanisław Kracik as commissioner to lead the city until a snap election expected by late August.
AI text based on reports by polsatnews.pl, Rzeczpospolita, TVN24 and other publishers. Published .