Marek Woch

Marek Marian Woch (Polish: ; born 17 December 1978) is a Polish lawyer and politician. He has chaired the nationwide federation Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy since October 2024 and has served as president of the Labour Party since September 2025.

Woch was a candidate in the 2025 Polish presidential election, finishing last among thirteen candidates with 18,338 votes, or 0.09 per cent. In October 2025, he announced a proposed Senate electoral pact with far-right leader Grzegorz Braun. In July 2026, Woch and Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński announced cooperation intended to establish a broader right-wing pact for the next Senate election.

Early life and education

Woch was born on 17 December 1978 in Kąkolewnica, in the Lublin Voivodeship. He initially attended a vocational school before continuing his education in law.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, where he obtained a doctorate in legal sciences. He also completed studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and Warsaw Management University.

Professional career

From 2015 to 2019, Woch served as an expert to the parliamentary group for supporting entrepreneurship and economic patriotism. Between 2016 and 2019, he was the plenipotentiary of the president of the National Health Fund for relations with non-governmental organisations and public authorities.

In the 2015 Polish parliamentary election, he ran as an independent candidate for the Senate, receiving 11,413 votes. He subsequently contested the 2019 European Parliament election in Poland for Poland Fair Play, the 2019 Polish parliamentary election for the Coalition of Nonpartisan and Local Government Activists and the 2023 Polish parliamentary election for Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy, without winning a seat.

In 2024, he ran unsuccessfully for the Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik and for the European Parliament, receiving 1,933 and 3,326 votes respectively.

Leadership and presidential campaign

On 25 October 2024, Woch was elected chairman of the board of the Nationwide Federation "Bezpartyjni i Samorządowcy" for the 2024–2028 term, succeeding Robert Raczyński. Woch finished last among thirteen candidates, receiving 18,338 votes, or 0.09 per cent.

On 20 September 2025, Woch became president of the Labour Party as part of a declared "personal and programme union" between the party, his federation and several smaller organisations. Former party president Zbigniew Wrzesiński became its honorary president.

Political views

During the 2025 presidential campaign, Woch advocated replacing Poland's parliamentary system with a presidential–parliamentary system, increasing the powers of the president and creating the office of vice-president. He also proposed establishing a Polish National Guard under presidential authority. His economic and administrative proposals included ending public subsidies for political parties, abolishing the National Health Fund and substantially restructuring or abolishing the Social Insurance Institution.

Political alliances and controversies

Dispute within Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy

During the 2025 presidential campaign, a Lower Silesian faction using the Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy name stated that Woch was not its candidate and did not represent its political position. Woch responded that he had been nominated by the nationwide federation and called for the removal of the Lower Silesian activists from its structures.

The conflict continued after three Lower Silesian regional councillors associated with the movement entered a coalition with the Polish People's Party. They were expelled from Woch's federation but continued to use the Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy name as a separate regional grouping.

Associations with nationalist and pro-Russian groups

During the 2025 presidential campaign, Woch accepted the endorsement of the Slavic Union, a Russophile political party that supports Poland's withdrawal from the European Union and closer relations with Russia and Belarus. The Camp of Great Poland also endorsed him and made its domain prezydent25.pl redirect visitors to Woch's campaign website.

Employee-rights investigation

In May 2025, the Warsaw-Śródmieście District Prosecutor's Office was conducting an investigation into alleged persistent and malicious violations of employee rights at the Office of the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. The investigation followed an anonymous complaint forwarded by the Warsaw Bar Association and concerned alleged conduct between September 2018 and January 2023.

The inquiry covered allegations of intimidation, failure to pay employees for overtime work and physical violence. Several former employees had previously accused Woch of harassment, verbal abuse and requiring unpaid work outside normal hours. At the time the investigation became public, Woch was participating in the proceedings as a witness rather than as a suspect. He described the allegations as a political attack on Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy during an election campaign.

Electoral history

President

Election Affiliation Votes % Result 2025 Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy 18,338 0.09% Not elected

Sejm

Election Affiliation Votes % Constituency Result 2019 Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy 1,314 0.23% No. 6 Not elected 2023 Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy 2,500 0.39% No. 6 Not elected

Senate

Election Affiliation Votes % Constituency Result 2015 Independent 11,413 11.75% No. 17 Not elected

European Parliament

Election Affiliation Votes % Constituency Result 2019 Poland Fair Play 2,040 0.28% Lublin Not elected 2024 Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy 3,326 0.25% Warsaw Not elected

Wójt of Kąkolewnica

Election Affiliation Votes % Result 2013 Independent 84 2.74% Not elected 2014 Independent 141 3.59% Not elected 2018 Independent 170 4.26% Not elected

Regional assemblies

Election Affiliation Votes % Assembly Result 2024 Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy 1,933 0.77% Lublin Not elected