Presidential candidate Marek Woch received support from, among others, the Slavic Union, which organized a “Solidarity with Russia” rally during Russia’s invasion of Georgia. In the past, this group collaborated with Michał Kołodziejczak, the current deputy agriculture minister. Meanwhile, Maciej Maciak was a frequent guest on Belarus International Radio, controlled by the Lukashenko regime.
To the public’s surprise, two relatively unknown politicians—Marek Woch and Maciej Maciak—managed to gather the required 100,000 signatures to run in the presidential election.
What do we know about them?
The first, Woch, is a lawyer associated with the Nonpartisan Local Government Activists movement. He previously served as the National Health Fund’s commissioner for NGO and public authority relations and as deputy ombudsman for small and medium-sized businesses. Since 2024, he has run the “Entrepreneurs’ Ombudsman Office,” a misleading name suggesting ties to the official ombudsman institution.
Recently, he gained endorsements from the Camp of Great Poland, an anti-Ukrainian and anti-American group, and the Slavic Union.
The Slavic Union organized pro-Belarusian government pickets and protested against the U.S. missile defense system in Poland. In 2008, after Russia’s attack on Georgia, they held a “Solidarity with Russia” rally outside the Russian embassy. Figures linked to this group, known for pro-Russian and antisemitic activities, once urged Michał Kołodziejczak to form a new political party. Before the 2023 parliamentary elections, Kołodziejczak’s Agrounia briefly allied with them but ultimately ran on the Civic Coalition’s list.
Maciej Maciak (Movement for Prosperity and Peace) has long promoted pro-Russian narratives on social media and appeared regularly on Belarus International Radio’s Polish-language program—a platform also used by alleged spies, including ex-judge Tomasz Szmydt and Mateusz Piskorski.
When asked on air what he would say to the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and China, Maciak replied: “As a Pole, I’d say: Gentlemen, keep going—you’re doing great work. In many ways, you’re bastions of normality in this world overrun by evil capital.”
Maciak once ran local TV station CW24TV in Włocławek but lost its broadcasting license in 2019.
Prof. Cenckiewicz’s Warning
Historian Sławomir Cenckiewicz highlighted Maciak’s troubling ties, suggesting his candidacy could be used to delegitimize the election if a right-wing candidate wins. Citing U.S. Treasury documents, Cenckiewicz noted that Maciak’s associate, Konstantyn Knyrik, runs News Front—a site allegedly controlled by Russia’s FSB.