The security services have raised no red flags about presidential hopeful Maciej Maciak, even though the social‑media activist regularly pushes pro‑Russian themes. The National Electoral Commission (Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza, PKW) told Niezalezna.pl it has received no such signal. Maciak secured only a razor‑thin surplus of signatures over the statutory minimum required to file.
A pro‑Russian voice with media reach
Maciak—leader of the Ruch Dobrobytu i Pokoju (Prosperity and Peace Movement) and a long‑time promoter of Kremlin‑friendly narratives—frequently appears as a commentator on the Polish‑language output of International Radio Belarus, a station controlled by Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime. Several years ago the late Dr Jerzy Targalski wrote about him in Niezalezna.pl, branding him “the Russian mouthpiece from Włocławek.”
Speaking on today’s edition of Republika tajnych służb, historian Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz argued that Maciak is “hardly an accidental player in this electoral game” and asked how he managed to collect the mandatory 100 000 signatures:
“He once ran for mayor of Włocławek and polled roughly six thousand votes. Logistically, gathering a hundred thousand signatures is challenging—many credible candidates never manage it. I don’t know how he did it. There’s also the question of the ‘buffer’: how many signatures were submitted, who in the PKW verified them, and how Maciak still met the threshold.”
Verification results: 4 639 signatures ruled invalid
In response to Niezalezna.pl’s questions, the PKW said it checked all 111 249 signatures submitted with Maciak’s application. His candidacy was formally registered on 9 April 2025. Inspectors rejected 4 639 signatures, leaving Maciak with 106 610 valid ones, barely above the legal floor.
Reasons for rejection were:
Category Invalid signatures
Signature defects 5
Incorrect name(s) 258
Incorrect address 3 038
Incorrect PESEL number 1 007
No voting rights 22
Incorrect date of support 106
Other defects 204
Media reports note that Maciak submitted signatures twice: the first batch drew a PKW request to remedy deficiencies; the second attempt succeeded, clearing him for the ballot.
No intelligence concerns filed
On whether any agency had flagged Maciak as a security risk, the PKW replied:
“The National Electoral Commission has not received any information from the ‘services’ about any of the candidates. Under the Electoral Code, the Commission must register a candidate once the submission meets statutory requirements.”
The answer confirms that the parliamentary committee on Russian influence chaired by Jacek Stróżyk has not examined Maciak. Prof. Cenckiewicz commented on air:
“My hypothesis is that Stróżyk’s committee only learned of Mr Maciak’s existence last Friday, hence the belated attempt—through Gazeta Wyborcza—to show they have him on their radar. He didn’t appear in the committee’s latest 400‑page report, and now they say they will look into him. That simply proves they hadn’t been aware of him. In my view, discussing that committee further is pointless—it adds nothing to our understanding of the issue.”