Ballots to choose mayors and other local leaders were held on Sunday in 748 cities and municipalities nationwide, state news agency PAP reported.
In the first round on April 7, the opposition conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party won the most votes in elections to Poland’s regional assemblies, but was outdistanced by the government coalition in mayoral races in most major cities, including Warsaw, Gdańsk, Łódź and Katowice.
In several other cities, including Poznań in the west, Wrocław in the southwest and Rzeszów in the southeast, races for mayor went to runoffs after no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.
In Poznań, incumbent liberal mayor Jacek Jaśkowiak secured re-election after easily defeating a candidate backed by Poland’s conservative opposition, the National Electoral Commission announced in the early hours of Monday morning.
Jaśkowiak, a former presidential hopeful, won 70.67 percent of the vote in the runoff, compared with 29.33 percent for his right-wing rival Zbigniew Czerwiński, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
In Rzeszów, a city of around 200,000 near the Ukrainian border, a contender supported by the conservative opposition failed to oust incumbent mayor Konrad Fijołek, who garnered 54.90 percent of the runoff vote, the National Electoral Commission said.
In Wrocław, incumbent mayor Jacek Sutryk clinched a second term after winning 68.29 percent of the vote in the second round.
In the southern city of Kraków, liberal politician Aleksander Miszalski was elected mayor after narrowly defeating unaffiliated candidate Łukasz Gibała. Miszalski was supported by 51.04 percent of voters, vs. 48.96 percent for Gibała.
The local ballots tested the government's support just six months after a coalition of pro-European parties won parliamentary elections, news agencies reported.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X on Sunday: "Poznań, Kraków, Wrocław, Rzeszów, Toruń, Zabrze, Konin, Kielce, Jelenia Góra, Zielona Góra, Radom, Elbląg - It seems we've won the second round." He declared: "We won't stop."
Turnout on Sunday was 44.06 percent, down from 51.93 percent in the first round two weeks earlier.
April's local elections were the second in an electoral marathon in Poland, following national parliamentary elections last autumn.
On June 9, Poles will head to the ballot box to vote in European Parliament elections.
(gs)
Source: TVP Info, IAR, PAP