Mayor Gronkiewicz-Waltz still most popular Warsaw politician?

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz between defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak (right) and culture minister Bogdan Zdrojewski in Warsaw on Wednesday: photo - PAP/Tomasz Gzell

When given four names to choose from by pollster MillwardBrown, 30 percent of respondents said they would vote for Gronkiewicz-Waltz, eight percentage points ahead of leftist politician Ryszard Kalisz.

Conservative Law and Justice's (PiS) Piotr Glinski would receive 12 percent of the vote and Piotr Guzial - the local politician who initiated the campaign to depose the incumbent mayor in Sunday's referendum - would receive eight percent support.

Seventeen percent told the pollster they did not know how they would vote.

On Sunday, 13 October, polling stations will open at 7 am local time and voters will be faced with a single question: "Should Ms Hanna Beata Gronkiewicz-Waltz be recalled as Mayor of Warsaw before the end of her term in office?"

For the referendum to be valid, three-fifths of the number who turned out for the mayoral elections in 2010 must participate.

As 649 049 voters took part in 2010, then the recall referendum will be valid if 389,430 voters turnout on Sunday.

Polling station close at 21.00 CET and thenews.pl and Polish Radio will be reporting exit poll results, news from the electoral commission in the capital and reactions from all the main players.

The referendum is being seen as a key test of the current government's popularity, led by Civic Platform, a centre-right party which Mayor Gronkiewicz-Waltz is a high profile member.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk is urging Civic Platform voters to stay at home on Sunday in enough numbers to make the referendum invalid. (pg)

source: TVN24