Krakow: Independent Gibała beats Tusk-backed candidate in mayoral race
Łukasz Gibała won the run-off in Poland's second-largest city with 62.1%. It is a setback for the ruling Civic Coalition a year before parliamentary elections.
Symbolic image · Photo: Igor123121 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Independent candidate Łukasz Gibała has clearly won the run-off for mayor of Krakow. According to results of Sunday's vote released early on Monday, he took 62.12% of the vote, while Senator Monika Piątkowska of the Civic Coalition (KO), backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, received 37.88%. Turnout was 44.27%.
The election became necessary after Krakow residents removed KO mayor Aleksander Miszalski in a recall referendum in May. He had faced accusations of cronyism and poor financial management. For Gibała, an entrepreneur and former member of parliament, it was his fourth bid since 2014. "After 24 years, the people of Krakow have got their city back," he said.
The result is seen as a blow to Tusk's KO, which draws its strongest support from big cities, one year before parliamentary elections. Gibała pledged to sort out the city's finances, which he described as disastrous.