2020 Civic Platform leadership election

2020 Civic Platform leadership election
25 January 2020
Registered10,816
Turnout8,266
 
Candidate Borys Budka Tomasz Siemoniak Bogdan Zdrojewski
Popular vote 6,481 920 623
Percentage 78.77%[a] 11.18% 7.57%

Leader before election

Grzegorz Schetyna

Elected Leader

Borys Budka

The 2020 Civic Platform leadership election was held in January 2020 to elect the leader of the Civic Platform. Borys Budka was elected as the new leader of the party, defeating Tomasz Siemoniak, Bogdan Zdrojewski and Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in a landslide, earning 78% of the vote. Despite Budka's large mandate, he would not serve his full four year term, as he resigned to allow Donald Tusk's return as party leader in 2021.

Procedure

The leadership election took place on 25 January 2020 with a runoff scheduled for 8 February had the party not selected a leader in the first round.[1] All 10,816 party members were eligible to vote, and turnout reached 76%.[2] The registration period in the party lasted until 3 January.[1]

Candidates

Candidate Born Political office
Borys Budka
11 March 1978
Czeladź, Poland
Minister of Justice (2015)
Member of the Sejm (2011–present)
Tomasz Siemoniak
2 July 1967
Wałbrzych, Poland
Member of the Sejm (2015–present)
Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (2014–2015)
Minister of National Defence (2011–2015)
Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz
29 July 1961
Kielce, Poland
Minister of the Interior (2013–2014)
Bogdan Zdrojewski
18 May 1957
Kłodzko, Poland
Senator (2019–present)
Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2007–2014)
Member of the Sejm (2005–2014)
Member of the European Parliament (2014–2019)

Withdrawn candidates

Candidate Born Political office Withdrawn
Joanna Mucha
12 April 1976
Płońsk, Poland
Member of the Sejm (2007–present)
Minister of Sport and Tourism (2011–2013)
22 January 2020[3]
Bartosz Arłukowicz
30 December 1971
Resko, Poland
Member of the Sejm (2005–2019)
Minister of Health (2011–2015)
17 January 2020[4]

Results

Preliminary results from 25 January were as follows:

Candidate Vote %
Borys Budka Y 6,481 78.77
Tomasz Siemoniak 920 11.18
Bogdan Zdrojewski 623 7.57
Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz 204 2.48
Total votes 8,266 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 10,816 76.42
Source: Civic Platform[2]

Later official results stated that Budka had won with a slightly smaller 78.49% of the vote, but did not give results for the rest of the election.[5][6][7]

Aftermath

Despite the high turnout 8,266 votes, Forbes noted the decline in voters since the party's 2016 and 2013 leadership elections.[8] Budka's four-year term ended short, with him deciding to stand down in mid-2021, inviting former prime minister Donald Tusk to assume the position of party leader.[9] Tusk was elected as party leader with no opposition in 2021 with 11,747 votes for his candidacy, and 252 invalid.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Official results from 29 January gave Budka 78.49% of the vote.

References

  1. ^ a b Wybory Przewodniczącego Platformy Obywatelskiej RP, Civic Platform, 3 January 2020, retrieved 2026-02-08
  2. ^ a b Komunikat Krajowej Komisji Wyborczej nr 1 z dnia 25 stycznia 2020 z godziny 21:45 (PDF), Civic Platform, 25 January 2020, archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-05-22, retrieved 2026-02-08
  3. ^ "Joanna Mucha wycofała się ze startu w wyborach na szefa PO. Komu przekazała poparcie?". Wprost. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  4. ^ ""Nie miał za sobą baronów". Dlaczego Arłukowicz zrezygnował z walki o szefowanie PO?". Gazeta Wyborcza. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  5. ^ Borys Budka przewodniczącym Platformy Obywatelskiej!, Civic Platform, 29 January 2020, retrieved 2026-02-08
  6. ^ "Platforma Obywatelska ma nowego szefa. Deklaracja Schetyny". Polsat News. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  7. ^ Skwirowski, Piotr (12 December 2023). "Borys Budka: minister aktywów państwowych i maratończyk". Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  8. ^ "Borys Budka wygrał wyborcze starcie w PO. Coraz mniej uprawnionych do głosowania w Platformie". Forbes. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  9. ^ "To już pewne. Donald Tusk wraca do polskiej polityki". Business Insider. 8 February 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  10. ^ Ambroziak, Anton; Szczęśniak, Agata (25 October 2021). "Wybory w PO. Kto i dlaczego wygrał w regionach?". OKO.press. Retrieved 2026-02-08.