Łukasz Gibała Announces Candidacy in Krakow Mayoral Snap Election

Łukasz Gibała announced on Friday, August 7, that he will run in the September 27 snap election for mayor of Krakow, following a mayoral recall referendum in May.

A Simple Choice for Voters

– On September 27, we will face a fairly simple choice: we can choose a party nominee tied to droves of party activists, their families, and friends, or a civic candidate, said Gibała.

Łukasz Gibała: I will run to restore trust and hope.

Restoring Trust and Hope

Gibała added that he will run for mayor of Krakow so that “no one in this city feels excluded and left to themselves.” – I will run to restore trust and hope, I will run so that everyone is equal in this city, he declared.

He also said that he is not starting his campaign in Warsaw, but on the Main Market Square in Krakow, because it is the city where he was born, raised, and spent his entire adult life. – Above all, it is a city that has been, is, and will be closest to my heart, he declared.

A Term Without Major Projects

“This will be a term without major projects.”

Gibała said that he strongly believes in Krakow “not for droves of party members, not for political hordes, but for ordinary residents, for all those who have the good of this city at heart.” – And it is for them that I am running, so that they have a choice, he emphasized. Gibała noted that if he wins the election, his term will last only two years. Therefore, he declared that he will focus primarily on repairing the city’s finances, without raising further fees and taxes.

– This will be a short term, and it will also be without any major projects, because let’s not delude ourselves, nothing major can be done in two years. It will rather consist of handling the daily affairs of Krakow residents and restoring normality, said Gibała. Asked about possible cooperation with the Krakow City Council, where the Civic Coalition holds a majority, he noted that he counts on cooperation “with sensible people from many clubs who will be open to cooperating with a president not from their political option.”

Who Is Łukasz Gibała?

Łukasz Gibała will run for the office of mayor of Krakow for the fourth time. In 2024, he lost in the second round to Aleksander Miszalski. In 2014 and 2018, he took third place and did not advance to the second round. Gibała is a Krakow city councillor, as well as the founder of the Krakow for Residents association and the city councillors’ club of the same name. He was formerly associated with Palikot’s Movement and PO, serving as an MP for two terms. He studied philosophy at the Jagiellonian University, earned a doctorate in humanities, and worked as a researcher for several years. He is an entrepreneur.

Candidates for Mayor of Krakow

By Friday, 15 electoral committees had been registered in the election for mayor of Krakow, submitted by political parties, organizations, and voters. Among them are committees of: former President of the Supreme Audit Office Marian Banaś, Bartosz Bocheńczak (Confederation), Michał Drewnicki (PiS), Daria Gosek-Popiołek (The Left), Jan Hoffman, one of the initiators of the May referendum, Michał Klimek (Confederation of the Polish Crown), Aleksandra Owca (Razem Party), Monika Piątkowska (KO, PSL), Sławomir Pietrzyk (Polish Social Democracy), Grażyna Zofia Świat (Nonpartisan Local Government Activists of Lesser Poland), and former Krakow city councillor Łukasz Wantuch. The deadline for notifying the election commissioner about the formation of a committee expires on August 17.