Kraków ousts its mayor
Residents of Kraków, Poland's second-largest city, voted in a weekend referendum to remove Mayor Aleksander Miszalski of the ruling Civic Coalition (KO) party from office. Turnout reached just under 30 percent — a whisker above the legally required threshold of roughly 27 percent — and of those who voted, nearly 98 percent backed the dismissal. Miszalski's opponents, a cross-party coalition of citizens and local councillors, had spent months mobilising around grievances including the city's ballooning debt, which is on course to hit almost PLN 9 billion by year-end — roughly double its level in 2020.
A separate ballot to dissolve the city council fell short of the required turnout and was therefore non-binding. Under Polish law, snap elections must now be held within 90 days. KO politicians acknowledged that Miszalski had failed to mobilise supporters sufficiently, while analysts note the result hands his opponents a significant political victory ahead of any fresh contest.
