Elections in Poland
Poland has a multi-party political system. On the national level, Poland elects the head of state – the president – and a legislature. There are also various local elections, referendums and elections to the European Parliament.
Poland has a long history of public elections dating back several centuries, beginning with the elections to Sejm in Łęczyca (known as the First Sejm) in 1182. Notably, since the Sejm of 1493, Polish kings were obliged to call regular Sejms and regional elections (sejmiks) every two years. From 1573 until 1795 the state system of elective monarchy in Poland required the royal elections of monarchs as well during the Sejm proceedings.[1]
History
The first Polish Sejm was called in 1182. Since the Sejm of 1493, called by king
The most famous Sejms included the
Since the death of
It is disputed how free were elections held after 1926; in particular, the 1930 elections are often considered to have been non-free
Only the 1947 and 1989 elections can be considered as partially free. All others were controlled during that period. There were no direct presidential elections until 1990, with President Bolesław Bierut's nomination in 1947 by the Sejm and the abolition of the office by the 1952 constitution.
Polish elections 1573 to 1985
Polish election, Royal elections
- 1st 1573 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 2nd 1576 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 3rd 1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 4th 1632 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 5th 1648 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 6th 1669 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 7th 1674 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 8th 1697 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 9th 1704 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 10th 1733 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
- 11th 1764 Polish–Lithuanian royal election
Presidential elections
- 1st Polish election, 1922 (9 Dec)
- 2nd Polish election, 1922 (20 Dec)
- 3rd Polish election, 1926 (May)
- 4th Polish election, 1926 (Jun)
- 5th Polish election, 1933
- 6th Polish election, 1947
Legislative elections
- 1st Polish election, 1919
- 2nd Polish election, 1922
- 3rd Polish election, 1928
- 4th Polish election, 1930
- 5th Polish election, 1935
- 6th Polish election, 1938
- 7th Polish election, 1947
- 8th Polish election, 1952
- 9th Polish election, 1957
- 10th Polish election, 1961
- 11th Polish election, 1965
- 12th Polish election, 1969
- 13th Polish election, 1972
- 14th Polish election, 1976
- 15th Polish election, 1980
- 16th Polish election, 1985
Post-Communist Poland
Since 1991, Polish elections operate according to a typical representative democracy.
Poland has a
Poland elects on national level a
End of Communist rule
1989 parliamentary elections
1989 Parliamentary Election: the Polish Round Table Agreement produced a partly open parliamentary election. The June election produced a Sejm (lower house), in which one-third of the seats went to communists and one-third went to the two parties which had hitherto been their coalition partners. The remaining one-third of the seats in the Sejm and all those in the Senate were freely contested; the majority of these were by candidates supported by Solidarity. Jaruzelski was elected by the Sejm as President of Poland.
The May 1990 local elections were entirely free. Candidates supported by Solidarity's Citizens' Committees won most of the elections they contested, although voter turnout was only a little over 40%. The cabinet was reshuffled in July 1990; the national defence and interior affairs ministers (hold-overs from the previous communist government) were among those replaced.
1990 presidential election
In October 1990, the constitution was amended to curtail the term of President Jaruzelski. In December, Lech Wałęsa became the first popularly elected President of Poland.
1991 parliamentary election
Poland's first free parliamentary elections were held in 1991. More than 100 parties participated, representing the full spectrum of political views. No single party received more than 13% of the total vote.
1993 parliamentary election
After a rough start, the second group of elections were held in 1993, and the first parliament to serve a full term. The Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) received the largest share of votes.
After the election, the SLD and Polish People's Party (PSL) formed a governing coalition. Waldemar Pawlak, leader of the junior partner PSL, became Prime Minister, later replaced by SLD's leader Józef Oleksy.
1995 presidential election
In November 1995, Poland held its second post-war free presidential election. SLD leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski defeated Wałęsa by a narrow margin—51.7% to 48.3%.
1997 parliamentary election
In 1997 parliamentary elections two parties with roots in the Solidarity movement – Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) and the Freedom Union (UW) – won 261 of the 460 seats in the Sejm and formed a coalition government. Jerzy Buzek of the AWS became Prime Minister. The AWS and the Democratic Left Allianc (SLD) held the majority of the seats in the Sejm. Marian Krzaklewski was the leader of the AWS, and Leszek Miller led the SLD. In June 2000, UW withdrew from the governing coalition, leaving AWS at the helm of a minority government.
Post-2000 elections
2000 presidential election
In the presidential election of 2000, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, the incumbent former leader of the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), was re-elected in the first round of voting, with 53.9% of the popular vote. Second place, with only 17.3%, went to Andrzej Olechowski. It is thought[who?] that the opposition campaign was hindered by their inability to put forward a charismatic (or even a single major) candidate, as well as falling support for the centre-right Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) government. This was related to internal friction in the ruling parliamentary coalition.
2001 parliamentary election
The 1997 Constitution and the changed administrative divisions of 1999 required a revision of the electoral system, which was passed in April 2001. The most important changes included:
- the final liquidation of the party list (previously, some of the members of parliament were elected from a party list, based on nationwide voter support, rather than from local constituencies),
- modification of the method of allocating seats to the Sainte-Laguë method, which gave less premium to large parties. The latter change was reverted to the d'Hondt method in 2002.
In the September 2001 parliamentary elections, the SLD won on the back of voter disillusionment with the AWS government and internal bickering within that bloc. So much so that this former ruling party did not enter parliament, falling below the 8% threshold for coalitions (they had failed to form a formal political party, which has only a 5% threshold, and formally remained a "coalition" of parties).
The SLD formed a coalition with the agrarian
2005 presidential and parliament election
In the autumn of 2005 Poles voted in both parliamentary and presidential elections.
2006 local elections
2007 parliamentary election
In the October parliamentary elections, the Civic Platform (PO) won a stunning victory, the largest opposition party, which gained more than 41% of the popular vote. PiS's vote increased, from 2005, but insufficiently to gain reelection, whilst both Samoobrona and LPR were wiped out, losing all representation, each having gained only a little over 1% of the vote. PO proceeded to form a majority governing coalition with the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL), with PO leader, Donald Tusk, taking over the prime ministerial office in November 2007.
2010 presidential election
On 10 April 2010, many members of the political elite were killed in the
At the presidential election in 2010, Donald Tusk decided not to present his candidature, considered easily winning over PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński. At PO primary elections, Bronisław Komorowski defeated the Oxford-educated Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. At the polls, Komorowski defeated Jarosław Kaczyński, ensuring a PO dominance on all Polish political landscape.[2]
In November 2010, local elections granted about 31 percent of the votes and PiS at 23 percent, an increase for the former and a drop for the latter compared to the 2006 elections. PO succeeded in winning four consecutive elections a record in post-communist Poland.[2]
2011 parliamentary election
The parliamentary election to both the
Civic Platform (PO), led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was aiming for re-election: a feat that hadn't been achieved since Poland became a democracy. The PSL was previously the smaller partner to the Civic Platform in the governing coalition, and had said that it wished to continue this relationship after the election.[3]
2015 parliamentary election
The parliamentary election to both the
The process of election for the Sejm is through
2019 European elections
Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solidary Poland | 289,536 | 2.12 | 1 | +1 | |||
Agreement | 287,671 | 2.11 | 1 | +1 | |||
Independents and others | 839,783 | 6.15 | 4 | +1 | |||
Total | 6,192,780 | 45.38 | 27 | +8 | |||
European Coalition | Civic Platform | 2,904,440 | 21.28 | 12 | −3 | ||
Democratic Left Alliance | 812,584 | 5.95 | 5 | +1 | |||
Polish People's Party | 617,772 | 4.53 | 3 | −1 | |||
Independents and others | 915,139 | 6.71 | 2 | –2 | |||
Total | 5,249,935 | 38.47 | 22 | −6 | |||
Spring | 826,975 | 6.06 | 3 | New | |||
Confederation | 621,188 | 4.55 | 0 | 0 | |||
Kukiz'15 | 503,564 | 3.69 | 0 | New | |||
Left Together | 168,745 | 1.24 | 0 | –1 | |||
Poland Fair Play | 74,013 | 0.54 | 0 | New | |||
PolEXIT-Coalition | 7,900 | 0.06 | 0 | –4 | |||
Unity of Nation | 2,211 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |||
Total | 13,647,311 | 100.00 | 52 | +1 | |||
Valid votes | 13,647,311 | 99.17 | |||||
Invalid/blank votes | 113,663 | 0.83 | |||||
Total votes | 13,760,974 | 100.00 | |||||
Registered voters/turnout | 30,118,852 | 45.69 | |||||
Source: PKW |
2019 parliamentary election
The 2019 Polish parliamentary elections were held on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the
Electoral Committee (Sejm) | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Law and Justice (PiS)
|
8,051,935 | 43.59 | 235 | -5 | |||
Civic Coalition (KO) | 5,060,355 | 27.40 | 134 | -32 | |||
The Left (SLD) | 2,319,946 | 12.56 | 49 | +49 | |||
Polish Coalition (PSL) | 1,578,523 | 8.55 | 30 | -28 | |||
Confederation (KWiN)
|
1,256,953 | 6.81 | 11 | +7 | |||
German Minority (MN) | 32,094 | 0.17 | 1 | ±0 | |||
Nonpartisan local government activists (BS)
|
144,569 | 0.78 | 0 | ±0 | |||
Effective (Skuteczni) | 18,918 | 0.10 | 0 | -1 | |||
Action of Disappointed Retirees and Pensioners (AZER) | 5,448 | 0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |||
Right Wing of the Republic (PR) | 1,765 | 0.01 | 0 | -1 | |||
Valid votes | 18,470,710 | 98.89 | |||||
Blank and invalid votes | 207,747 | 1.11 | |||||
Total | 18,678,457 | 100 | 460 | ±0 | |||
Abstentions | 11,575,099 | 38.26 | |||||
Registered voters / Turnout | 30,253,556 | 61.74 | |||||
(Source: National Electoral Commission) |
Electoral committee (Senate) | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Law and Justice (PiS)
|
8,110,193 | 44.56 | 48 | –13 | ||
Civic Coalition (KO) | 6,490,306 | 35.66 | 43 | +9 | ||
Polish Coalition (PSL) | 1,041,909 | 5.72 | 3 | +2 | ||
The Left | 415,745 | 2.28 | 2 | +2 | ||
Nonpartisan local government activists (BS)
|
331,385 | 1.82 | 0 | ±0 | ||
Confederation (KWiN)
|
144,124 | 0.79 | 0 | ±0 | ||
Independents | 187,014 | 1.03 | 4 | ±0 | ||
Others | 1,511,672 | 8.31 | 0 | ±0 | ||
Valid votes | 18,201,348 | 97.45 | ||||
Blank and invalid votes | 476,582 | 2.55 | ||||
Total | 18,677,930 | 100 | 100 | ±0 | ||
Abstentions | 11,575,626 | 38.26 | ||||
Registered voters / Turnout | 30,253,556 | 61.74 | ||||
(Source: National Electoral Commission) |
2020 presidential election
The 2020 Polish presidential elections first round was held on 28 June 2020 and was completed with a second round of voting on 12 July 2020.
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Andrzej Duda | Independent ( PiS ) |
8,450,513 | 43.50 | 10,440,648 | 51.03 | |
Rafał Trzaskowski | Civic Platform | 5,917,340 | 30.46 | 10,018,263 | 48.97 | |
Szymon Hołownia | Independent | 2,693,397 | 13.87 | |||
Krzysztof Bosak | Confederation (RN) | 1,317,380 | 6.78 | |||
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz | Polish People's Party | 459,365 | 2.36 | |||
Robert Biedroń | Spring | 432,129 | 2.22 | |||
Stanisław Żółtek | Congress of the New Right | 45,419 | 0.23 | |||
Marek Jakubiak | Federation for the Republic | 33,652 | 0.17 | |||
Paweł Tanajno | Independent | 27,909 | 0.14 | |||
Waldemar Witkowski | Labour Union | 27,290 | 0.14 | |||
Mirosław Piotrowski | Real Europe Movement | 21,065 | 0.11 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 58,301 | – | 177,724 | – | ||
Total | 19,483,760 | 100 | 20,636,635 | 100 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 30,204,792 | 64.51 | 30,268,460 | 68.18 | ||
Source: Results, Turnout (first round); Results, Turnout (second round) |
2023 parliamentary election
The 2023 Polish parliamentary election was held on October 15. Although PiS won the most seats, they lost their majority. A coalition of the Civic Coalition (KO), the Left, and the Third Way took power with KO leader Donald Tusk taking over as Prime Minister.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Kancelaria. "Poznaj Sejm" [Learn about Polish Parliament]. Sejm Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ a b Warsaw Business Journal Archived 20 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "PSL want to continue coalition in next year's general election". TheNews.pl. Polskie Radio. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ Álvarez-Rivera, Manuel. "Election Resources on the Internet: Elections to the Polish Sejm, Part I". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Poland celebrates record voter turnout since 1989 elections". TVN24. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
References
- Andrzej Rzepliński. "Niewolne wybory parlamentarne. Doświadczenie polskie 1947–1989" [Unfree parliamentary elections. The Polish Experience 1947–1989] (PDF). Instytut Profilaktyki Społecznej i Resocjalizacji, IPSiR. Warsaw University.
- Groth, A.J. (December 1965). "Polish Elections 1919–1928". S2CID 163223573.
External links
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Parties and elections
- Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza – National Electoral Commission (in Polish)
- Warsaw Consolidates the Countries of Eastern and Central Europe
- Jan Rokita: The Triumph of the Politician – Intellectual
- Kaczynski Brothers: Movie Stars That Turned Politicians
- Elections 2005: Brief Information About the Participants
- The Elections to the Polish Parliament (Sejm) 1919 – 1947 (results)