Wrocław. Draft appeal to Jacek Sutryk for his resignation

On Thursday, councilors in Wrocław adopted the budget for 2025. During this most important session of the year, a vote was also taken on the draft councilors' appeal PISwho want Jacek Sutryk to resign from his mandate.

This is an echo of the situation from last month, when Sutryk was detained and faced four charges – including: regarding the provision of a financial benefit to the former rector of the Collegium Humanum university in exchange for a diploma of completion of Executive Master of Business postgraduate studies without actually completing them.

“We believe that the current situation, in which the city's highest representative was detained and then charged with committing a crime, is absolutely unacceptable and requires appropriate steps to be taken to restore peace and stability in the city's functioning,” wrote the justification for the draft resolution.

Read also: Jacek Sutryk heard the charges and returned to work. “Resignation, why?”

The appeal was supposed to be submitted during the last session, but procedures prevented it. Draft resolutions must be submitted within 7 days of the session, which was impossible at that time. At that time, Sutryk was arrested.

– At the previous session, councilors did not include this item on the agenda. Many coalition councilors voted against because the application was late, but they do not rule out voting for this appeal if it were submitted correctly. Now we say “I'm checking”. Some people tried to avoid the president's assessment due to formal reasons, now we allow them to vote for or against the president – said Łukasz Kasztelowicz from the PiS councilors' club before Thursday's session.

The president was absent from the session, even though it was a budget session. The absentee was defended by vice-president Renata Granowska, who emphasized that the city was functioning normally. – I can't imagine passing sentences on any of us here, in this courtroom. You can't do that. Let the matter proceed as it is supposed to proceed, said Renata Granowska.

However, opposition councilors accused Sutryk of not explaining the matter sufficiently. Jakub Janas from the Naprawmy Przyszłość (NP) club, formed on the day of the session as a result of the expulsion of three members from the KO club and their votes against the budget bill, despite the ordered discipline, said that these explanations belong simply to the people of Wrocław.

– Among other things, the answer to the questions whether the rector was actually employed in a municipal company, whether he performed the duties that were included in the contract, what the company's management board, what the corporate supervision office thinks about all this, and finally – what the mayor of Wrocław thinks about all this – said Robert Janas from the Przyszłość Wrocławia club.

No verdict has been passed in the case yet. Vice-President Renata Granowska said that Sutryk could not talk about some issues. – If the president cannot talk about this issue during the trial because this is the decision, he simply does not talk about it. If everything is clarified and the case ends, everything will be known, said Renata Granowska.

Councilor Piotr Uhle (NP) assessed that the content of the allegations against Sutryk “is part of the modus operandi of the functioning of our city.” – Modus operandi, which consists in building a system of dependencies, in breaking spines, in cronyism, in nepotism and on building an entire system of dependencies in municipal companies – said Uhle.

Ultimately, the draft appeal was lost in the vote. There were 7 councilors in favor, 20 votes against and 6 abstentions. Łukasz Kasztelowicz from PiS announced that he will still try to dismiss Sutryk next year. He intends to submit a request for a referendum on this matter at the next session.

– What if it doesn't go through? We are already thinking about what to do next. There is also the issue of a citizens' referendum, but this is also a challenge. It will be necessary to collect 50,000 votes from Wrocław residents in two months, it is not that easy, contrary to appearances – said Kasztelowicz.

However, the balance of power in the Wrocław City Council indicates that any PiS motion to dismiss the president has no chance. There are 37 councilors on the council, the 20-person Civic Coalition club co-governs with the 5-person Left club and one unaffiliated councilor. The opposition includes an eight-member PiS club and three councilors from the Naprawmy Przyszłość club.

READ ALSO: The councilors rejected the draft resolution calling on Jacek Sutryk to resign

The initiative of PiS politicians is the result of the arrest and charges brought against the mayor of Wrocław. Let us recall that on November 14, Jacek Sutryk was detained by officers CBA and taken to the prosecutor's office in Katowice.

There, the president of the capital of Lower Silesia was charged with, among others, regarding fraud and providing a financial benefit to the former rector of the Collegium Humanum university in exchange for a diploma of completion of Executive Master of Business postgraduate studies without actually completing them.

Shortly after Sutryk heard the charges, he returned to work. In a conversation with a TVN24 reporter, he said that he saw no reason to resign. – Why should there be a resignation? We have a record budget for 2025 – PLN 8 billion, I started with PLN 4 billion. We have a lot of projects and we are doing them, said the mayor of Wrocław.