# Independent defeats Tusk's pick in Kraków mayoral race

> Łukasz Gibała won Kraków's mayoral runoff as an independent, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition in Poland's second-largest city.
- Title: Independent defeats Tusk's pick in Kraków mayoral race
- Summary: Łukasz Gibała won Kraków's mayoral runoff as an independent, dealing a setback to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition in Poland's second-largest…
- Keywords: łukasz gibała, kraków, donald tusk, civic coalition, poland, mayoral election, monika piątkowska, politics, world, Independent, defeats, Tusk's
- Source: POLITICO — https://politico.eu/article/lukasz-gibala-wins-krakow-mayoral-runoff-donald-tusk-setback
- Published: 2026-10-11T20:32:22+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: łukasz gibała, kraków, donald tusk, civic coalition, poland, mayoral election, monika piątkowska, politics, world
## Independent wins Kraków runoff
Łukasz Gibała, an independent candidate, won Kraków's mayoral runoff on Sunday with sixty-one percent of the vote against thirty-nine percent for Senator Monika Piątkowska, backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition.

> The people of Kraków have just regained their city!
## Gibała's fourth attempt succeeds
Gibała, a local councilor and former national lawmaker, narrowly lost to Civic Coalition's Aleksander Miszalski in twenty twenty-four.
## Tusk's coalition faces national headwinds
Nationally, Civic Coalition remains ahead in opinion polls but current voting intentions suggest Tusk's coalition will fall short of a majority in scheduled fall parliamentary elections.
## Key takeaway

Independent Łukasz Gibała won Kraków's mayoral runoff with sixty-one percent of the vote, defeating Prime Minister Tusk's Civic Coalition candidate and taking control of Poland's second-largest city.