Voivodeship sejmik

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West Pomeranian Regional Assembly meeting in Szczecin
.

A voivodeship sejmik (Polish: sejmik województwa), also known as a provincial or regional assembly, is the regional-level elected legislature for each of the sixteen voivodeships of Poland.[1] Sejmiks are elected to five-year terms,[2] decided during nationwide local elections. The size of the legislative assembly varies for each voivodeship depending on the population; in lower populated provinces, there are 30 members, while in the most populous (Masovian Voivodeship) there are 51 members. Elected representatives of an assembly are known as councillors (radni).

Origins

The word

People's Republic of Poland era.[3] Initially, elected regional assemblies were created by the government of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki under his administration's decentralization programme, with the regional assemblies acting as advisory bodies to the centrally-appointed voivode.[4][5] Under the administration of Jerzy Buzek in 1998, the contemporary regional assemblies were created by the Sejm with the reorganization of provincial borders and the devolution of powers to the governments of the new voivodeships.[6]

Elections

Assemblies are elected for a five-year term during nationwide

chairman and deputy chairmen from among their ranks, who are tasked in organizing the assembly's business and presiding over debates.[10] If the assembly fails to elect an executive board within three months following an election, the legislature must dissolve itself and the voivodeship is obliged to call another election.[11] Earlier elections can also be approved in the event of a public referendum or if the Sejm has dissolved a regional assembly.[12]

Powers

Provincial assemblies can debate, adopt and pass

statutes on matters concerning the province which are not reserved for the administration of the central government. Since the end of the 1990s, the powers of the sejmiks and their respective executive boards have grown. These include matters such as economic development strategies, spatial management plans, managing provincially-controlled rail operators, waste and water management, environmental protection, regional heritage protection, voting on the provincial budget, and appointing a supervisory board to manage voivodeship roads.[13][14][15] However, sejmiks are unable to enact provincewide taxes to fund internal policies and projects, and remain dependent on the central government for financing such operations.[15]

Throughout its elected term, the assembly reserves the right to hold the marshal and the executive board accountable for their policies.

vote of no confidence, after which results in the collapse of the executive board, and a new marshal and board are chosen.[16] Assemblies do not, on the other hand, have a say in the choice nor dismissal of the centrally-appointed voivode
for the province.

Assemblies are assisted by the voivodeship marshal's office (urząd marszałkowski), which provides legal, technical, and bureaucratic services to the body.[17]

List

Sejmik Location Number of members Voivodeship marshal
(head of the voivodeship executive board) 		Sejmik chairperson
Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik Wrocław 36
BS
) 		Jerzy Pokój (KO)
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Toruń 30 Piotr Całbecki (KO) Elżbieta Piniewska (KO)
Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik Lublin 33
PiS
)
PiS
)
Lubusz Voivodeship Sejmik Zielona Góra 30 Elżbieta Polak (KO)
BS
)
Łódź Voivodeship Sejmik Łódź 33
PiS
)
PiS
)
Lesser Poland Voivodeship Sejmik Kraków 39
PiS
)
PiS
)
Masovian Voivodeship Sejmik
Warszawa
 51 Adam Struzik (PSL) Ludwik Rakowski (KO)
Opole Voivodeship Sejmik Opole 30 Andrzej Buła (KO) Rafał Bartek (MN)
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Sejmik Rzeszów 33
PiS
)
PiS
)
Podlaskie Voivodeship Sejmik Białystok 30
PiS
)
PiS
)
Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Gdańsk 33 Mieczysław Struk (KO) Jan Kleinszmidt (KO)
Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik Katowice 45 Jakub Chełstowski (T!DPL) Marek Gzik (KO)
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Sejmik Kielce 30
PiS
) 		Arkadiusz Bąk (PSL)
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Sejmik
 Olsztyn 30
Gustaw Brzezin (PSL
) 		Bernadeta Hordejuk (KO)
Greater Poland Voivodeship Sejmik Poznań 39 Marek Woźniak (KO) Małgorzata Waszak-Klepka (KO)
West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Szczecin 30 Olgierd Geblewicz (KO) Teresa Kalina (KO)

Current Composition (2024 elections)

Sejmik Majority
Law and Justice
 Civic Coalition Third Way The Left Confederation Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy German Minority OK Self-Government
Lower Silesia TBA
13 / 36
15 / 36
4 / 36
1 / 36
3 / 36
Kyavia-Pomerania TBA
11 / 30
14 / 30
5 / 30
Lublin
PiS
21 / 33
6 / 33
5 / 33
1 / 33
Lubusz TBA
10 / 30
14 / 30
6 / 30
Łódź TBA
16 / 33
12 / 33
4 / 33
1 / 33
Lesser Poland
PiS
21 / 39
12 / 39
6 / 39
Masovia TBA
21 / 51
20 / 51
8 / 51
1 / 51
1 / 51
Opole TBA
10 / 30
14 / 30
1 / 30
5 / 30
Subcarpathia
PiS
21 / 33
6 / 33
4 / 33
2 / 33
Podlaskie TBA
15 / 30
8 / 30
6 / 30
1 / 30
Pomerania KO
10 / 33
20 / 33
3 / 33
Silesia TBA
18 / 45
20 / 45
5 / 45
2 / 45
Świętokrzyskie
PiS
16 / 30
6 / 30
7 / 30
1 / 30
Warmian-Masurian
 TBA
11 / 30
13 / 30
6 / 30
Greater Poland TBA
15 / 39
15 / 39
7 / 39
2 / 39
West Pomeranian TBA
10 / 30
15 / 30
3 / 30
1 / 30
1 / 30
Total
239 / 552
210 / 552
80 / 552
8 / 552
6 / 552
3 / 552
5 / 552
1 / 552

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Machnikowski et al., p. 21
  2. ^ (in the years 1998-2017, the term lasted 4 years)
  3. ^ Regulski, p. 46
  4. ^ Ochman, p. 16
  5. ^ Surazska, p. 87
  6. ^ Tatur, pp. 65-66
  7. ^ Council of Europe, p. 14
  8. ^ Prokop, p. 144
  9. ^ Prokop, p. 139
  10. ^ Prokop, p. 142
  11. ^ Prokop, pp. 141-142
  12. ^ Prokop, p. 141
  13. ^ "The regional level (voivodeship)". Akademie für Raumforschung und Landesplanung. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Dz.U. 2007 nr 19 poz. 115". Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych. Sejm. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  15. ^ a b OECD, p. 256
  16. ^ Council of Europe, p. 17
  17. ^ "Samorząd województwa - informacje ogólne". Portal Informacyjny Województwa Podlaskiego. Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Podlaskiego. Retrieved 8 December 2015.

Works cited

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