Tension in Poland: Demanding the resignation of the mayor of Warsaw
Subtitle:
Over 40 thousand residents of the capital have already signed up to organize a local referendum against Rafal Trzaskowski
Main text:
A serious political crisis is brewing in the Polish capital. The civic movement “Capital Referendum Operation“ (Stołeczna Operacja Referendalna) has officially announced that over 40,000 signatures have already been collected from Warsaw residents demanding a referendum on the early removal of the current mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski. The information was confirmed by the campaign organizer Maciej Wilk on the social network X and disseminated by authoritative media such as the Ukrainian publication Eurointegration (https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/rus/news/2026/08/17/7243664/) and the information portal Obozrevatel (https://www.obozrevatel.com/novosti-mir/v-varshave-trebuyut-otstavki-mera-sobrali-40-tyisyach-podpisej-dlya-provedeniya-referenduma.htm).
The signature officially started on July 30 and will last until September 28, 2026. In order for the referendum to be legally convened, the initiators must gather the support of at least 10% of voters in Warsaw - which requires approximately 132,000 valid signatures within the specified 60-day period. The current interim result shows that the threshold of one-third of the required number has already been crossed.
Why do Warsaw residents want Trzaskowski to resign?
The dissatisfaction with the mayor, who is a key figure in the ruling party “Civil Platform“ of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is caused by a number of local problems. The campaign organizers accuse the city government of a lack of effective control over municipal enterprises, an inflated administrative staff and a serious increase in the cost of maintaining officials.
Additional fuel to the fire was added by the recently erupted corruption scandal in the capital's Southern Hospital (Szpital Południowy). Journalistic investigations cited by the Polish platform Slawa TV (https://slawa.tv/94894255/u-varshavi-zbirayut-pidpisi-za-vidstavku-tshaskovskogo-chi-vidbudetsya-u-stolitsi-referendum) revealed massive abuses of skipping queues for medical examinations by individuals associated with the ruling coalition. Critics of Trzaskovsky emphasize that instead of solving the capital's accumulated problems, he is entirely focused on big politics and his personal presidential ambitions.
What are the chances of the referendum's success?
If the required 132,000 signatures are collected and approved by the electoral commissioner, Warsaw will go to the polls. However, local legislation sets a high bar for the validity of the vote. In order for the referendum to be recognized as legitimate, at least three-fifths (3/5) of the number of voters in the last regular local elections in the city must participate. For Warsaw, this means a turnout of about 450,000 people.
The opposition forces in Poland have serious reason for optimism, as this is not a precedent for the year. Earlier in May 2026, through a similar local referendum, the citizens of the second largest Polish city of Krakow sensationally managed to oust their mayor, Aleksander Michalski, who was also a representative of the “Civil Platform“. It remains to be seen whether the wave of local discontent will also reach the mayor of the capital.