Win by a tiny turnout. Monika Piątkowska gets into the Senate

Official results

The election results were published by the National Election Commission on Sunday night on Monday.

Monika Piątkowska, a candidate for the Civic Coalition, won 25,022 votes. 15,675 people voted for Matthew Małodziński of the Law and Justice Service, which gave him 31.41% of support. Adam Roman Berkowicz from the Confederacy obtained 10.47% of the vote, or 5 223, and Ewa Małgorzata Sładek from KW full – 7.98% (3 982 votes).

Election venues in 10 Krakow districts, including the Old Town, closed at 21:00 and attendance was 16.52%. Nearly 303,800 people from the southern, western districts of Krakow and the Old Town took part in the election.

The vote was aimed at filling a vacancy in the legislature after the resignation of Bogdan Klich, who took the position of chargé d’affaires at the Polish embassy in Washington.

Five Postulates

During the election run Piątkowska presented 5 postulates she would like to implement as a senator. 3 of them straight afraid Krakow. Their aim was to supply backing for the construction of the metro, equip Balice Airport with a Category III guidance system, allowing visibility in the fog to 100 metres, and for the construction of the Pychowicka and Zwierzyniecka routes.

Two nationwide demands focused on women's rights and security. Piątkowska, supported by the KO, announced actions to compensate women and men in the same positions. In terms of security, food safety is peculiarly crucial for her – she announced that she wanted to reconstruct the food economy as a separate section in the Government Administration Departments Act.

No support for Poland 2050

Monika Piątkowska's candidacy was not so easy for her. The politician had previously been associated with PSL and Poland 2050, serving, among others, as the typical of president Krakow for the city's brand. He is presently the president of the Grain and Feed Chamber. However, she received no support from Poland 2050 in these elections, after she left the organization in the spring of 2023, criticising her for putting organization interests above the common good.

Hołównia, asked in January if she would support Piątkowska candidate, replied:

No 1 asked anyone for their opinion here, the PO did not ask anyone about the place in Krakow, so the conclusion is simple: the legislature pact is not valid. We will not support Ms Monika Piątkowska as Poland 2050 for certain as a candidate for Senator.

No PO support?

The winner congratulated Prime Minister Donald Tusk himself. On his X-platform profile, he wrote:

Bravo Kraków, bravo Monika Piątkowska! To get more than half the votes under these circumstances, clearly more than the PiS and the Confederacy together, that's something. But this is Krakow, not the country. So if you're happy, let's treat this as a warning. We have a truly large challenge ahead of us.

However, it turns out that Piątkowska besides had not easy with the PO erstwhile it came to campaigning. The words of Marshal Hołownia met with a negative reaction of the Krakow Civic Platform, and the organization officially declared its support and started collecting signatures. But not right away.

Piątkowska's candidate initially amazed the Kraków PO activists who had previously recommended six another candidates, recognising them as more recognizable in Krakow. In January there were even reports that any PO representatives from Krakow would not collect signatures of support for a candidate named by the national board.