The survey participants were asked directly: "Do you think that the number of signatures needed to registry a candidate or candidate for president should be increased (now that number is 100,000 signatures)?".
54.5 percent of respondents agreed. 29.7% of respondents were against the change and 15.8% had no opinion on it.
– rise the threshold of required signatures supports six out of 10 people who are 50 years old and 2 out of 3 people from cities with a population of up to 20,000,” comments Wiktoria Maruszczak, elder task manager at SW Research. “The groups that are most critical of this thought include respondents surviving in cities with a population of 200–499,000 (41%) and surveyed from 25 to 34 (40%),” adds the expert.
The effect of the Maciak? Poles want to change regulations
In this year's elections, the most fierce fight for voters' votes is fought by 2 candidates of 2 major groups in Poland. Karol Nawrocki submitted 1.3 million signatures of support to the State Election Commission, which is the highest consequence among all candidates. Rafał Trzaskowski besides collected an awesome number – over 1.1 million signatures. Both candidates stress that the number of signatures collected demonstrates strong social support and mobilisation of their supporters.
It is worth noting that although 17 candidates submitted the required 100,000 signatures, 4 of them were not registered due to irregularities – specified as signatures of deceased people.
The fact that the list included, among others, candidates with minimal social support – as Maciej Maciak declared his support for Putin, who received little than 1,300 votes in the last parliamentary election – made demands for tightening the requirements for candidates. The public debate even proposed raising the threshold to 500 000 signatures.
Election 2025. 1995 evidence even
In this year's presidential election, as many as 13 candidates were registered – as many as they competed in the historical elections in 1995, erstwhile the office was applied for, among others, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Lech Wałęsa, Jan Olszewski, Jacek Kuroń or Tadeusz Mazowiecki.
It was 1 of the most politically diverse presidential races in the past of the 3rd Poland, ending with Kwasniewski's triumph in the 2nd round. In 2025, this script can be repeated – according to the polls, no of the candidates can number on more than half of the votes in the first round.
