Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday that he sees no problem with immediately returning to the Polish People’s Party (PSL) bill that would abolish the two-term limit. “Let’s go back to it as soon as possible and vote on it again,” he added.
On Thursday, the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, rejected a PSL-sponsored amendment to the Electoral Code whose main aim was to abolish the limit of two terms for wójts (heads of rural municipalities), mayors and city presidents. A total of 213 lawmakers voted for the amendment, 215 voted against, and 9 abstained.
Speaking Friday to journalists accompanying him on a visit to India, the prime minister said he “sees no problem with immediately returning to this (PSL) bill.” “Because if it was only technical reasons that decided that a few votes were missing, (…) then let’s go back to it as soon as possible and vote on it again,” he stressed.
Tusk was also asked about a statement Thursday by PSL leader Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said the amendment fell a few votes short in part because of the absence of the prime minister and the finance minister.
Tusk noted that the head of the People’s Party had put a lot of work into the bill and was very attached to the two-term limit project.
“However, everyone had known for many, many weeks that on that day I would be in India together with the finance minister. (…) The day before, I took part in a vote. It was very important to me to be there for the abortion votes. I don’t know why this vote (on the two-term limit) did not take place on the same day, when we were all present,” the prime minister stressed.
According to information posted on the Sejm’s website, 145 lawmakers from the Civic Coalition (KO) voted for the amendment, while four lawmakers from that club voted against. All PSL lawmakers who took part in the vote, 31 in all, backed the amendment unanimously.
All Law and Justice (PiS) lawmakers who took part in the vote, 141 in all, opposed the amendment, as did all 39 from the Rozwój Plus club.
The Left club was divided: 12 of its lawmakers voted for the amendment, six voted against, and one abstained.
The Confederation club was also split. Five of its lawmakers voted “for,” seven voted “against,” and four abstained.
Among lawmakers from the Centrum club, 12 voted for the amendment and two voted against. Six lawmakers from Polska 2050 (Poland 2050) supported the change in the law, three voted against, and three abstained. Among unaffiliated lawmakers, one voted “for,” four voted “against,” and one abstained.
One lawmaker from the Demokracja Bezpośrednia (Direct Democracy) parliamentary circle voted to adopt the amendment to the Electoral Code, while three from that group voted against. Four lawmakers from the Razem circle and two from the Konfederacja Korony Polskiej (Confederation of the Polish Crown) also voted against.
The draft amendment to the Electoral Code was submitted to the Sejm in July 2025 on the initiative of the PSL. It provided for abolishing the rule under which a person can serve as a wójt, mayor or city president for only two terms.
The bill also proposed eliminating the ban on candidates for wójt, mayor or city president running in elections to the county council (rada powiatu) and the regional assembly (sejmik województwa).
The two-term limit for the executive officials of municipalities, combined with extending a single term to five years, was introduced in 2018. Since then, it has been opposed by, among others, People’s Party circles. (PAP)
