Residence of the central city of Lodz have voted unanimously to kick out their mayor, Jerzy Kropiwnicki, in a special referendum.

Over 95 percent of the inhabitants of Lodz wanted the incumbent mayor dismissed. The turnout in Sunday’s referendum was 22.2 percent, which is enough to consider its results binding. 

Jerzy Kropiwnicki will officially be dismissed when the electoral committee confirms the results of the referendum. Kropiwnicki will be replaced by a commissioner appointed by the Prime Minister. Local councilors from the Law and Justice party, which Kropiwnicki leads in Lozd, will also have to stand down.   

The referendum was initiated by local Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) politicians, who claim that the right-wing mayor is incompetent. In their opinion, Kropiwnicki’s rule has created utter chaos in the city. The opposition blames the mayor for ineffectual investments, expensive and unnecessary business trips, closure of a new theatre complex and faulty infrastructure and transport. The leftist politicians managed to collect almost 90,000 votes on the petition to organize the referendum.  

Kropiwnicki denies the opposition’s allegations, claiming that he managed to bring 30 new investors to Lodz last year and that under his rule the city has undergone significant transformation.

Jerzy Kropiwnicki, the Law and Justice politician and former leader of the Christian-National Union, has been the mayor of Lodz since 2002. He is currently in hospital suffering from overwork and stress. (mg/pg)