2024 Polish local elections

2024 Polish local elections

7 April 2024 (2024-04-07) (first round) 21 April 2024 (second round)
552 seats to provincial assemblies, 6,170 seats to county councils, 33,566 seats to commune councils, 420 seats to Warsaw district councils, and 2,477 local government heads
Votes counted	99.83% as of 8 April, 16:05 CEST
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jarosław Kaczyński Donald Tusk Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz Szymon Hołownia Party PiS PO PSL Poland 2050 Alliance United Right Civic Coalition Third Way Last election 254 seats, 34.1% 194 seats, 28.1% 70 seats, 12.1% Seats won 187 158 61   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Sławomir Mentzen Krzysztof Bosak Włodzimierz Czarzasty Robert Biedroń Robert Raczyński Party NN RN NL BS Alliance Confederation and Nonpartisan Local Government Activists The Left Last election 0 seats, 2.9% 11 seats, 8.2% 15 seats, 5.3% Seats won 6 7 2
Result of the voivodeship sejmik elections

Local elections were held in Poland on 7 April 2024 to elect members for all 16 regional assemblies, 380 county councils, and 2477 municipal councils, mayors of all municipalities and cities, as well as 18 district councils of Warsaw. The previous elections saw the Law and Justice party win the most seats in regional assemblies and take control in 8 of them. The second round to elect heads of municipalities, mayors, and city presidents will be held on 21 April in places where no candidate obtained more than 50% of votes.

Background

2018 Polish local elections

Main article: 2018 Polish local elections

Coalition agreements in voivodeships after the 2018 election.
In November 2022 PiS lost power in Silesian Voivodeship, after 4 councillors left the party and joined the opposition, In 2024 the coalition agreement between PiS and BS in Lower Silesian Voivodeship was terminated, in favor of a PO-BS-NH one

In the previous local elections held in autumn 2018, Law and Justice (PiS), Poland's ruling party at the time, won the most votes in the regional assembly elections, allowing it to take power in eight of the 16 voivodeships, mainly in eastern and southern Poland. The runner-up, the centrist-liberal Civic Coalition (KO), received 27% of the vote, which allowed it to maintain control over 8 voivodeships, together with its coalition partners: the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL), the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and, in the Opole Voivodeship, the German Minority. Mayoral elections in large cities were won by KO candidates or opposition-backed independents, notably in Warsaw, where Rafał Trzaskowski defeated PiS candidate Patryk Jaki in the first round, winning 57% of the vote. Both PiS and the opposition claimed victory in the elections. As of March 2024, PiS controls 6 regional assemblies, while KO with its coalition partners holds 10.

Extension of the terms of office of local authorities

The current legislation in Poland, enacted in 2018, stipulates that the term of office of local authorities is five years from the date of election. As the previous election was held in the autumn of 2018, the next election would have to be held in the autumn of 2023, and would coincide with the election of the parliament, whose term of office was expiring in November of that year.

In September 2022, a new legislation was passed by the parliament, exceptionally extending the terms of office of local authorities until 30 April 2024. The lawmakers indicated that the extension of the term of office was necessary to avoid the organisational problems associated with holding local and parliamentary elections at approximately the same time. The regulation was criticized by the Association of Voivodeships, a voluntary association of regional governments, the Union of Polish Cities, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the National Council of Legal Advisers, as well as by experts of the Senate Legislation Bureau. Critics have pointed out, among other things, that the act may violate fundamental constitutional principles. They also questioned the legitimacy of concerns about the simultaneous organisation of local and parliamentary elections, and pointed out that the act does not address these problems systemically, only incidentally.

The act was signed into law by President Andrzej Duda on 22 November 2022.

2023 Polish parliamentary election

Main article: 2023 Polish parliamentary election

The parliamentary election held on 15 October 2023 saw the record turnout of over 74%. The ruling Law and Justice party received the highest number of votes, but lost its ability to form a majority government. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki subsequently failed to form a coalition, and on 13 December a new government was formed under Donald Tusk, made up of the hitherto opposition parties: Civic Coalition, Poland 2050, Polish People's Party and the New Left.

Electoral system

Further information: Elections in Poland

The members of the voivodeship sejmiks, county councils, municipal councils for municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, and Warsaw district councils are elected proportionally using the D'Hondt method. Each voivodeship, county, and municipality is divided into multiple constituencies. Each voivodeship sejmik constituency elects between 5 to 15 councilors, each county council constituency elects between 3 to 10 councilors, and each municipal council and Warsaw district constituency elects between 5 to 8 councilors.

Municipalities with 20,000 inhabitants or fewer are divided into 15 constituencies, each of which elects 1 councilor using first-past-the-post.

Heads of municipalities, mayors, and city presidents are directly elected in each municipality using the two-round system.

Lists

National committees registered in all voivodeships

List				Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	2018 result in Sejmiks		Candidates
							Votes (%)	Seats	Sejmiks	Powiats	Gminas	Mayors	Warsaw districts
	1	PiS	Law and Justice Prawo i Sprawiedliwość	National conservatism Right-wing populism	Right-wing	Jarosław Kaczyński	34.1%	254 / 552	720	8195	11746	446	532
	2	KiBS	Confederation and Nonpartisan Localists Konfederacja i Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy	Polish nationalism Economic liberalism	Far-right	Sławomir Mentzen Krzysztof Bosak	2.9%	0 / 552	706	499	914	24	0
	3	TD	Third Way Trzecia Droga	Centrism Christian democracy Liberalism	Centre to centre-right	Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz Szymon Hołownia	12.1%	70 / 552	719	5939	8024	328	280
	4	L	The Left Lewica	Social democracy Progressivism	Centre-left to left-wing	Włodzimierz Czarzasty Robert Biedroń Magdalena Biejat Adrian Zandberg	8.2%	11 / 552	698	844	1238	30	326
	5	KO	Civic Coalition Koalicja Obywatelska	Liberalism Liberal democracy	Centre	Donald Tusk	28.1%	194 / 552	720	5214	6293	173	568
	6	BS	Nonpartisan Local Government Activists Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy	Regionalism Localism	Centre-left	Robert Raczyński	5.3%	15 / 552	485	242	451	21	23

National committees registered in more than one voivodeship

List			Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	# of voivodeships	Candidates
							Sejmiks	Powiats	Gminas	Mayors
	PL!SP	Liberal Poland – Entrepreneurs' Strike Polska Liberalna Strajk Przedsiębiorców	Libertarianism Populism	Centre-right	Paweł Tanajno	15	287	0	13	1
	OKS	Self-Government Coalition OK Self-Government Koalicja Samorządowa OK Samorząd	Regionalism Localism	Big tent	Tadeusz Czajka	11	264	265	194	6
	NK	Normal Country Normalny Kraj	Anti-establishment Right-wing populism	Right-wing	Wiesław Lewicki	10	202	0	23	1
	RNP	Repair Poland Movement Ruch Naprawy Polski	National conservatism Right-wing populism	Right-wing	Romuald Starosielec	7	125	15	114	3
	ROP	Defence of Poland Movement Ruch Obrony Polski	Christian right Polish nationalism	Far-right	Janusz Niemer	2	82	22	69	2

National and local committees registered in a single voivodeship

List			Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	2018 result in Sejmiks		Voivodeship	Candidates
						Votes (%)	Seats		Sejmiks	Powiats	Gminas	Mayors
	AN	National Action Akcja Narodowa	Polish nationalism Christian right	Far-right	Jan Waliszewski	0.0%	0 / 552	Łódź	29	0	49	1
	BP	Azure Poland Błękitna Polska	Localism Christian right	Right-wing	Małgorzata Belska	N/A	0 / 552	Lesser Poland	8	0	36	1
	DG	Good of the Gmina Dobro Gminy	Localism	Centre	Bartosz Nowicki	N/A	0 / 552	West Pomeranian	5	5	15	1
	GRM	Geothermal Rawa Mazowiecka Geotermia Rawa Mazowiecka	Pro-geothermal energy Green politics	Centre-left	Małgorzata Belska	N/A	0 / 552	Łódź	5	4	11	0
	IOPT	Civic Initiative of Tarnogórski Powiat Inicjatywa Obywatelska Powiatu Tarnogórskiego	Localism Environmentalism	Centre	Mariusz Długajczyk	0.1%	0 / 552	Silesian	20	37	34	1
	OdO	Citizens for Citizens Obywatele dla Obywateli	Localism Pro-farmers' protests	Right-wing	Robert Więcko	N/A	0 / 552	Podlaskie	37	0	0	0
	RAŚ	Silesian Autonomy Movement Ruch Autonomii Śląska	Silesian regionalism Autonomism	Centre-left	Jerzy Gorzelik	0.4%	0 / 552	Silesian	57	0	10	1
	RSŁK	Self-Government Movement of Łukasz Konarski Ruch Samorządowy Łukasza Konarskiego	Localism	Centre	Łukasz Konarski	N/A	0 / 552	Silesian	9	30	27	1
	S	Self-Defence Samoobrona	Agrarian socialism Catholic socialism	Left-wing to far-left	Jan Perkowski	N/A	0 / 552	Silesian	6	0	58	2
	SRP	Self-Defence RP Samoobrona RP	Agrarian socialism Catholic socialism	Left-wing to far-left	Krzysztof Prokopczyk	N/A	0 / 552	Masovian	16	0	0	0
	SLD	Democratic Left Association Stowarzyszenie Lewicy Demokratycznej	Social democracy	Centre-left to left-wing	Jerzy Teichert	N/A	0 / 552	Lubusz	40	0	35	0
	OiS	Association Citizens and Justice Stowarzyszenie Obywatele i Sprawiedliwość	Economic liberalism Environmentalism	Centre	Wojciech Papis	N/A	0 / 552	Masovian	32	0	6	0
	SP	Association "Self-Governing Pomerania" Stowarzyszenie "Samorządne Pomorze"	Regionalism Christian right	Right-wing	Dariusz Męczykowski	N/A	0 / 552	Pomeranian	39	0	0	0
	ŚS	Silesian Localists Śląscy Samorządowcy	Minority interests Social market economy	Centre-left	Ryszard Galla	0.3%	5 / 552	Opole	38	148	294	15
	ŚR	Silesians Together Ślonzoki Razem	Localism Silesian autonomism	Centre-left	Leon Swaczyna	0.4%	0 / 552	Silesian	38	0	0	0
	ZS	Slavic Union Związek Słowiański	Agrarianism Economic nationalism	Syncretic	Włodzimierz Rynkowski	0.0%	0 / 552	Masovian	53	0	7	0

Other national committees

List			Ideology	Political position	Leader(s)	2018 result in Sejmiks		Candidates
						Votes (%)	Seats	Sejmiks	Powiats	Gminas	Mayors
	B	Nonpartisans Bezpartyjni	Libertarian conservatism Conservative liberalism	Right-wing to far-right	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	69	1
	BiN	Nonpartisans and Independents Bezpartyjni i Niezależni	Localism	Centre-left	Kamil Suchański	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	4	0
	KP	Pro-Polish Confederation Konfederacja Propolska	Polish nationalism Economic liberalism	Far-right	Ziemowit Przebitkowski	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	27	0
	PSLTD	Agreement Servers People – Third Way Porozumienie Służy Ludziom – Trzecia Droga	Agrarianism Christian democracy	Centre-right	Krzysztof Filiński	N/A	0 / 552	0	191	225	5
	PRP	Right Wing of the Republic Prawica Rzeczypospolitej	National conservatism Social conservatism	Right-wing	Krzysztof Kawęcki	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	13	1
	SNG	Safe Next Generation – Safe Civic Generation Safe Next Generation – Bezpieczne Pokolenie Obywatelskie	Grassroots democracy Liberalism	Centre-left	Laura Starowiejska	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	21	1
	ONRP	Association Renewal of the Republic of Poland Stowarzyszenie OdNowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej	Conservatism	Centre-right	Marcin Ociepa	N/A	0 / 552	0	39	34	1
	SL"O"	People's Party "Patrimony" RP Stronnictwo Ludowe "Ojcowizna" RP	Agrarianism Conservatism	Right-wing	Wieńczysław Nowacki	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	7	0
	SP	Sovereign Poland Suwerenna Polska	Polish nationalism Christian right	Far-right	Zbigniew Ziobro	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	27	1
	WiS	Free and Solidary Wolni i Solidarni	Solidarism Conservatism	Right-wing	Jan Miller	0.8%	0 / 552	0	3	11	0
	ZP	Healthy Poland Zdrowa Polska	Conspiracism Vaccine hesitancy	Far-right	Jan Waliszewski	N/A	0 / 552	0	0	5	0

Electoral committees

A total of 11,202 committees were registered for the elections. 41 committees applied for nationwide registration by the National Electoral Commission, of which 35 have been registered: 21 political parties, nine organizations, three coalitions and two voters committees. Four committees were rejected and one committee retracted its registration.

Electoral committees

	Type	Committee	Status	Sejmiks	Powiat councils	Gmina councils	Mayors	Warsaw district councils
1	Coalition	Civic Coalition	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2	Party	Nonpartisan Local Government Activists	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	No	No
3	Party	Normal Country	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
4	Organization	Association Citizens and Justice	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
5	Party	Slavic Union	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
6	Party	Repair Poland Movement	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
7	Organization	All-Poland Federation "Nonpartisans and Local Government Activists"	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
8	Party	Self-Defence	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
9	Organization	Trade Union of Polish Agriculture Free and Solidary	Rejected	No	No	No	No	No
10	Organization	Self-Government Coalition OK Self-Government	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
11	Party	People's Party "Patrimony" RP	Rejected	No	No	No	No	No
12	Party	Law and Justice	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
13	Party	Silesians Together	Fielded lists	Yes	No	No	No	No
14	Coalition	The Left	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
15	Party	PolEXIT	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
16	Organization	Safe Next Generation - Safe Civic Generation	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
17	Organization	Association "Nonpartisan Local Government Activists"	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
18	Voters	Confederation and Nonpartisan Local Government Activists	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
19	Voters	Self-Government Coalition OK Self-Government	Called for correction	No	No	No	No	No
20	Party	Right Wing of the Republic	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
21	Party	Liberal Poland – Entrepreneurs' Strike	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
22	Party	Sovereign Poland	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
23	Party	Free and Solidary	Fielded lists	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
24	Organization	Association Nonpartisan and Independent	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	No	No
25	Coalition	Third Way PSL-PL2050 of Szymon Hołownia	Fielded lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
26	Voters	Renewal of the Republic of Poland	Retracted	No	No	No	No	No
27	Organization	Democratic Left Association	Fielded lists	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
28	Party	Movement of Unity of Poles	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
29	Party	Labour Faction	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
30	Party	Self-Defence RP	Fielded lists	Yes	No	No	No	No
31	Voters	Agreement Serves People - Third Way	Fielded lists	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
32	Party	Pro-Polish Confederation	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	No	No
33	Party	Normal Poland	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
34	Party	Free Europe	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
35	Party	Nonpartisans	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
36	Organization	Healthy Poland	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	No	No
37	Voters	It's High Time	Rejected	No	No	No	No	No
38	Party	People's Party "Fatherland" RP	Fielded lists	No	No	Yes	No	No
39	Organization	Renewal of the Republic of Poland	Fielded lists	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
40	Party	Polska 2050	Registered	No	No	No	No	No
41	Voters	Public Control	Rejected	No	No	No	No	No

Campaigning

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a victory for the ruling Civic Coalition is necessary to prevent a return to nationalist rule by the Law and Justice Party, and portrayed its electoral campaign as a defense of "freedom, human rights, women's rights, democracy, free economy, self-government". Law and Justice denied such accusations throughout the campaign, with its leader Jarosław Kaczyński accusing the government of lying and calling the election an opportunity to present it with a "yellow card".

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2024 Polish local elections

Results

Exit polls showed that Law and Justice won 33.7% and the Civic Coalition won 31.9% in elections to the regional assemblies. The Third Way coalition was projected to win 13.5%, the Left 6.8% and and the Confederation party 7.5%.

Results also showed that the mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, won an outright victory in the first round, as did the mayor of Gdansk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz. Winners were also proclaimed in the first round for mayoral races in Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Opole, Białystok, Katowice, Szczecin, and Łódź, while those in Wrocław, Toruń, Zielona Góra, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kraków, Rzeszów. Olsztyn, Poznań and Kielce were to undergo a runoff.

Voivodeship councils

Voivodeship Council
	PiS	KO	KiBS	TD	L	BS	ŚS	Other
Lower Silesia
Kuyavia-Pomerania	28.15	38.30	17.18	6.54	6.86	1.55		1.42
Lublin	47.17	19.18	15.19	8.66	4.73	2.96		2.11
Lubusz	25.04	34.73	18.67	6.24	8.33	2.42		4.56
Łódź
Lesser Poland
Masovia
Opole	25.30	36.47	9.34	5.93	3.63	2.02	16.22	1.09
Subcarpathian	51.96	16.26	12.35	9.91	3.82	2.75		2.95
Podlaskie	43.47	22.75	16.45	9.95	3.43	1.38		2.57
Pomerania
Silesia	31.09	32.41	10.62	6.86	8.22	2.30		8.50
Świętokrzyskie
Warmia-Masuria
Greater Poland
West Pomerania
Poland

Reactions

Jarosław Kaczyński praised the election result, which he said highlighted the potential for greater success in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. and showed that reports of his political demise were "premature". Tusk praised Trzaskowski in his victory and called him the "hero" of the election night. He also acknowledged that conservative regions appeared to have mobilized more voters, while some his party's supporters might not have voted due to the good weather on 7 April.