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Elections in Poland gives information on election and election results in Poland. Poland has a multi-party political system. Poland elects on national level a 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 elections dating several centuries, including the elections to Sejm from 1182 and the elective monarchy from 1569 to 1795. There were also elections in the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), and the People's Republic of Poland, although most of the latter are considered to have been rigged.
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Since 1991, Polish elections operate according to a typical parliamentary system.
Poland has a multi-party political system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Poland elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The National Assembly has two chambers. The parliament (Sejm) has 460 members, elected for a four year term by party lists in multi-seat constituencies with a 5% threshold for single parties and 8% threshold for coalitions, (requirement waived for national minorities). The Senate (Senat) has 100 members elected for a four year term via the first past-the-post system, with 100 single member constituencies. Prior to the 2011 parliamentary elections, elections to the Senate were conducted through plurality bloc voting in 40 multi-seat constituencies. Since 1991 elections are supervised by National Electoral Commission (Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza), whose administrative division is called the National Electoral Office (Krajowe Biuro Wyborcze).
1989 Parliamentary Elections: the Polish Round Table Agreement produced a partly open parliamentary elections. 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.
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.
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.
After a rough start, 1993 saw the second group of elections, and the first parliament to serve a full term. The Alliance of the Democratic Left (SLD) received the largest share of votes.
After the election, the SLD and PSL formed a governing coalition. Waldemar Pawlak, leader of the junior partner PSL, became Prime Minister, later replaced by SLD's leader Józef Oleksy.
In November 1995, Poland held its second post-war free presidential elections. SLD leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski defeated Wałęsa by a narrow margin—51.7% to 48.3%.
Party | Ideology | Votes | % | Change | Seats | Change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solidarity Electoral Action | Liberal conservatism | 4,427,373 | 33.83% | 201 | |||
Democratic Left Alliance | Social democracy | 3,551,224 | 27.13% | 164 | |||
Freedom Union | Classical liberalism | 1,749,518 | 13.37% | 60 | |||
Polish People's Party | Agrarianism | 956,184 | 7.31% | 27 | |||
Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland | Euroscepticism | 727,072 | 5.56% | 6 | |||
Labour Union | Social democracy | 620,611 | 4.74% | — | — | ||
Krajowa Partia Emerytów i Rencistów | 284,826 | 2.18% | — | — | |||
Unia Prawicy Rzeczypospolitej | 266,317 | 2.03% | — | — | |||
KPERR | 212 826 | 1.63% | — | — | |||
Blok dla Polski | 178,395 | 1.36% | — | — | |||
Total (Turnout: 47.93%) | 12,974,346 | 100.0% | — | 458 | — |
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 Alliance of the Democratic Left (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 collation, leaving AWS at the helm of a minority government.
Candidates - party | votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Aleksander Kwaśniewski - Independent supported by Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) | 9,485,224 | 53.9 | ||
Andrzej Olechowski - Independent | 3,044,141 | 17.3 | ||
Marian Krzaklewski - Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) | 2,739,621 | 15.6 | ||
Jarosław Kalinowski - Polish People's Party (PSL) | 1,047,949 | 5.95 | ||
Andrzej Lepper - Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (SRP) | 537,570 | 3.1 | ||
Lech Wałęsa - Christian Democracy of the 3rd Republic of Poland (ChD III RP) | 252,499 | 1.4 | ||
Janusz Korwin-Mikke - Real Politics Union (UPR) | 178,590 | 1.0 | ||
Piotr Ikonowicz - Polish Socialist Party (PPS) | 139,682 | 0.79 | ||
Jan Łopuszański - Polish Agreement (PP) | 89,002 | 0.51 | ||
Dariusz Grabowski - Coalition for Poland (KdP) | 38,672 | 0.22 | ||
Tadeusz Wilecki - Independent | 28,805 | 0.16 | ||
Bogdan Pawłowski - Independent | 17,164 | 0.10 | ||
Total | 17,598,919 | 100.00 | ||
Total valid votes | 17,598,919 | |||
Total invalid votes | 190,312 | |||
Total votes cast | 17,789,231 | |||
Turnout | 61.08% | |||
Sources:The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe, Poland - Presidential election results |
In the presidential election of 2000, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, the incumbent former leader of the post-communist 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 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 AWS government. This was related to internal friction in the ruling parliamentary coalition.
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 September 2001 parliamentary elections saw the SLD triumph on the back of voter dissolusionment 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 went on to form a coalition with the agrarian PSL and leftist UP, with Leszek Miller as Prime Minister.
Parties | Votes | % | Seats Sejm | +/- | Seats Senate | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) | 3,185,714 | 27.0 | 155 | +111 | 49 | |
Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) | 2,849,259 | 24.1 | 133 | +68 | 34 | |
Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona RP) | 1,347,355 | 11.4 | 56 | +3 | 3 | |
Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD) | 1,335,257 | 11.3 | 55 | -161 | - | |
League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) | 940,726 | 8.0 | 34 | -4 | 7 | |
Polish People's Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) | 821,656 | 7.0 | 25 | -17 | 2 | |
Social Democracy of Poland (Socjaldemokracja Polska, SDPL) | 459,380 | 3.9 | - | - | ||
Democratic Party (Partia Demokratyczna) | 289,276 | 2.5 | - | - | ||
Janusz Korwin-Mikke Platform (Platforma Janusza Korwin-Mikke, PJKM) | 185,885 | 1.6 | - | - | ||
Patriotic Movement (Ruch Patriotyczny) | 124,038 | 1.1 | - | - | ||
Polish Labor Party (Polska Partia Pracy, PPP) | 91,266 | 0.8 | - | - | ||
German Minority Electoral Committee (Komitet Wyborczy Mniejszość Niemiecka) | 34,469 | 0.3 | 2 | |||
Polish National Party (Polska Partia Narodowa) | 34,127 | 0.3 | - | |||
Native House (Dom Ojczysty) | 32,863 | 0.3 | - | |||
Centre (Centrum) | 21,893 | 0.2 | - | |||
All-Poland Civic Coalition (Ogólnopolska Koalicja Obywatelska) | 16,251 | 0.1 | - | |||
Party Initiative of the Republic of Poland (Partia Inicjatywa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) | 11,914 | 0.1 | - | |||
Polish Confederation - Dignity and Work (Polska Konfederacja - Godność i Praca) | 8,353 | 0.1 | - | |||
National Rebirth of Poland (Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski) | 7,376 | 0.1 | - | |||
German Minority of Silesia (Mniejszość Niemiecka Śląska) | 5,581 | 0.1 | - | |||
Labour Party (Stronnictwo Pracy) | 1,019 | 0.01 | - | |||
Social Rescuers (Społeczni Ratownicy) | 982 | 0.01 | - | |||
Independents | 5 | |||||
Total (turnout 40.6 %) | 11,804,676 | 460 | 100 | |||
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Candidates and nominating parties | Votes 1st round | % | Votes 2nd round | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lech Kaczyński - Law and Justice | 4,947,927 | 33.1 | 8,257,468 | 54.04 | |
Donald Tusk - Civic Platform | 5,429,666 | 36.3 | 7,022,319 | 45.96 | |
Andrzej Lepper - Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland | 2,259,094 | 15.1 | |||
Marek Borowski - Social Democracy of Poland | 1,544,642 | 10.3 | |||
Jarosław Kalinowski - Polish People's Party | 269,316 | 1.8 | |||
Janusz Korwin-Mikke - Real Politics Union | 214,116 | 1.4 | |||
Henryka Bochniarz - Democratic Party | 188,598 | 1.3 | |||
Liwiusz Ilasz | 31,691 | 0.2 | |||
Stanisław Tymiński - All-Polish Citizens Coalition | 23,545 | 0.2 | |||
Leszek Bubel - Polish National Party | 18,828 | 0.1 | |||
Jan Pyszko - Organization of the Polish Nation - Polish League | 10,371 | 0.1 | |||
Adam Słomka - The Polish Confederation-Freedom and the Work | 8,895 | 0.1 | |||
Total | 15,046,350 | 100.00 | 15,279,787 | 100.00 | |
Total valid votes | 15,046,350 | 15,279,787 | |||
Total invalid votes | 155,233 | 159,897 | |||
Total votes cast | 15,435,020 | 15,439,684 | |||
Turnout | 49.7% | 50.99% | |||
Source: National Electoral Comission |
In the autumn of 2005 Poles voted in both parliamentary and presidential elections. September's parliamentary poll was expected to produce a coalition of two centre-right parties, Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) and Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO). PiS eventually gained 27% of votes cast and became the largest party in the sejm ahead of PO on 24%. The out-going ruling party, the left-wing Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, SLD), achieved just 11%. Presidential elections in October followed a similar script. The early favourite, Donald Tusk, leader of the PO, saw his opinion poll lead slip away and was beaten 54% to 46% in the second round by the PiS candidate Lech Kaczyński (one of the twins, founders of the party). Both elections were blighted by low turn-outs—only 51% in the second and deciding round of the presidential election, and just over 40% in the parliamentary election. The suggested cause of the low turnout is popular disillusionment with politicians.
Parties | Sejm | Senate | ||||||
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Votes | % | Seats | +/– | MPs %/votes % | Seats | +/– | ||
Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) | 6,701,010 | 41.51 | 209 | +76 | 1,09 | 60 | +26 | |
Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) | 5,183,477 | 32.11 | 166 | +11 | 1,12 | 39 | –10 | |
Left and Democrats (Lewica i Demokraci, LiD) | 2,122,981 | 13.15 | 53 | –2[3] | 0,88 | — | — | |
Polish People's Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) | 1,437,638 | 8.91 | 31 | +6 | 0,76 | — | –2 | |
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona RP, SRP) | 247,335 | 1.53 | — | –56 | — | –3 | ||
League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) | 209,171 | 1.30 | — | –34 | — | –7 | ||
Polish Labor Party (Polska Partia Pracy, PPP) | 160,476 | 0.99 | — | — | — | — | ||
Women's Party (Partia Kobiet, PK)[4] | 45,121 | 0.28 | — | — | — | — | ||
German Minority (Mniejszość Niemiecka, MN)[5] | 32,462 | 0.20 | 1 | –1 | 1,09 | — | — | |
Patriotic Self-Defense (Samoobrona Patriotyczna)[6] | 2,531 | 0.02 | — | — | — | — | ||
Independents (Niezależni) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 | –4 | ||
Total | 16,142,202 | 460 | 100 | |||||
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The October parliamentary elections saw a stunning victory for the Civic Platform (PO), 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.
Candidates – Parties | First round | Second round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |
Bronisław Komorowski – Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) | 6,981,319 | 41.54 | 8,933,887 | 53.01 |
Jarosław Kaczyński – Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) | 6,128,255 | 36.46 | 7,919,134 | 46.99 |
Grzegorz Napieralski - Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej) | 2,299,870 | 13.68 | ||
Janusz Korwin-Mikke – Freedom and Lawfulness (Wolność i Praworządność) | 416,898 | 2.48 | ||
Waldemar Pawlak – Polish People's Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe) | 294,273 | 1.75 | ||
Andrzej Olechowski – independent | 242,439 | 1.44 | ||
Andrzej Lepper – Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) | 214,657 | 1.28 | ||
Marek Jurek – Right of the Republic (Prawica Rzeczypospolitej) | 177,315 | 1.06 | ||
Bogusław Ziętek – Free Trade Union "August 80" (Wolny Związek Zawodowy "Sierpień 80") | 29,548 | 0.18 | ||
Kornel Morawiecki – on behalf of Fighting Solidarity (Solidarność Walcząca) | 21,596 | 0.13 | ||
Total votes for candidates | 16,806,170 | 100.00 | 16,853,021 | 100.00 |
Total valid votes | 16,806,170 | 99.30 | 16,853,021 | 98.84 |
Total invalid votes | 117,662 | 0.70 | 197,396 | 1.16 |
Total votes cast | 16,923,832 | 100.00 | 17,050,417 | 100.00 |
Turnout | 54.94% | 55.31% | ||
Source: Electoral Commission, National Electoral Comission |
On 10 April 2010, several members of the political elite were killed in the Smolensk air crash, including Lech Kaczyński, acting President of Poland.
At the Polish 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, PiS turncoat Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. At the polls, Komorowski defeated Jarosław Kaczyński, ensuring a PO dominance on all Polish political landscape[1].
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), and Donald Tusk is left as the kingmaker. PO's dominance is also a reflection of right-wing weakness and divisions, with PiS suffering a splinter in Autumn 2010[1].
Parties | Sejm | Senate | ||||||
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Votes | % | Seats | +/– | MPs %/votes % | Seats | +/– | ||
Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO) | 5,629,773 | 39,18 | 207 | –2 | –2.33 | 63 | +3 | |
Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) | 4,295,016 | 29.89 | 157 | –9 | –2.22 | 31 | –8 | |
Palikot's Movement (Ruch Palikota, RP) | 1,439,490 | 10.02 | 40 | +40 | — | — | ||
Polish People's Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) | 1,201,628 | 8.36 | 28 | –3 | –0.55 | 2 | +2 | |
Democratic Left Alliance (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratyczne, SLD) | 1,184,303 | 8.24 | 27 | –26 | –4.91 | — | — | |
Poland Comes First (Polska jest Najważniejsza, PJN) | 315,393 | 2.19 | — | —† | — | —† | ||
Congress of the New Right (Kongres Nowej Prawicy, KNP) | 151,837 | 1.06 | — | – | — | – | ||
Polish Labour Party (Polska Partia Pracy, PPP) | 79,147 | 0.55 | — | — | — | — | ||
Right of the Republic–Real Politics Union (Prawica) | 35,169 | 0.24 | — | — | –0.44 | — | — | |
German Minority (Mniejszość Niemiecka, MN) | 28,014 | 0.20 | 1 | — | –0.03 | — | — | |
Our Home Poland (Nasz Dom Polska)[7] | 9,733 | 0.05 | — | — | –1.48 | — | — | |
Independents (Niezależni) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4 | +3 | ||
Total | 14,369,503 | 460 | 100 | |||||
†PjN did not exist at the previous election, but had 15 Sejm seats and 1 Senate seat when the previous Parliament was dissolved.[3] |
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The parliamentary election to both the Sejm and the Senate was held on 9 October 2011. The previous election, in 2007, resulted in a Civic Platform–Polish People's Party government. All seats of both houses were up for re-election.
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 Polish People's Party (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.[4]
Poland has a long history of elections dating many centuries from the first Sejm in 1182. From the Sejm of 1493 Polish kings had to call regular Sejms and sejmiks (regional elections) every two years. From 1573 the system of royal elections required the election of kings during the Sejm.
The first modern and free elections were held in 1919, two months after Poland regained its independence in 1918. After the May Coup there were questions how free are the Polish elections, specially the elections of 1930 are often called non-free. After the Second World War, Poland became controlled by the communists, who rigged the elections of 1947 to ensure they controlled the entire Polish government. Although there were regular elections in Poland from that time, no elections until the groundbreaking elections of 1989, marking the fall of communism, were free. The elections of 1989, which guaranteed the Polish communist party and its allies a majority of lower house seats, but allowed opposition parties to gain representation, is considered to be a semi-free election. All subsequent elections, beginning with the 1991 election are considered fair and free.
The first Sejm was called in 1182. Since the Sejm of 1493, called by king John I Olbracht in 1493, Sejms were to be held every 2 years. There were also special Sejms when needed, for example the coronation sejms.
Famous Sejms included:
Since the death of Sigismund II Augustus, last of the Jagiellonian dynasty, and following a brief period of interregnum, the entire nobility (szlachta) of the Commonwealth (10% of the population) could take part in the elections of the monarchs. Last elected king was Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1764. He abdicated in 1795 after the partitions of Poland ended the existence of sovereign state of Poland for 123 years.
It is disputed how free were elections held after 1926 were; in particular, the 1930 elections are often considered to have been non-free pl:Wybory brzeskie. Polish presidents were elected by the Sejm and Senate (Zgromadzenie Narodowe), not in a popular vote. Before 1922, the Polish Chief of State was called Naczelnik Państwa.
Only the 1947 and 1989 elections can be considered as partially free. All others were controlled. There were no presidential elections during the rest of this period, with President Bolesław Bierut's nomination by the Sejm and the abolition of the office by the 1952 constitution.
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