2011 Polish parliamentary election

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2011 Polish parliamentary election
Flag of Poland.svg
  2007 9 October 2011 2015  

All 460 seats in the Sejm
231 seats needed for a majority
Turnout48.92%
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Gosciem dzisiejszego dnia jest Robert Korzeniowski (6166215272) (cropped).jpg
Jaroslaw Kaczynski Sejm 2016a (cropped).JPG
Janusz Palikot Sejm 2015 02.JPG
Leader Donald Tusk Jarosław Kaczyński Janusz Palikot
Party PO PiS RP
Last election209 seats, 41.5%166 seats, 32.1%Did not exist
Seats won20715740
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 9New
Popular vote5,629,7734,295,0161,439,490
Percentage39.2%29.9%10.0%
SwingDecrease2.svg 2.3ppDecrease2.svg 2.2ppNew party

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Waldemar Pawlak (8036264214) (cropped).jpg
Napieralski.jpg
Ryszard Galla posel (cropped).jpg
Leader Waldemar Pawlak Grzegorz Napieralski Ryszard Galla
Party PSL SLD KWMN
Last election31 seats, 8.9%53 seats, 13.2%1 seat, 0.2%
Seats won28271
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 3Decrease2.svg 26Steady2.svg 0
Popular vote1,201,6281,184,30328,014
Percentage8.4%8.2%0.2%
SwingDecrease2.svg 0.5ppDecrease2.svg 5.0ppSteady2.svg 0

2011 Polish parliamentary election.svg
Seats won by Sejm District

Government before election

First Tusk cabinet
POPSL

Elected Government

Second Tusk cabinet
POPSL

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 9 October 2011. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling Civic Platform (PO) won a plurality of seats and Tusk became the first Polish prime minister to be appointed for a second consecutive term since the fall of communism. Both the Civic Platform and its junior partner, the Polish People's Party (PSL), agreed to continue their governing coalition after the election.

Contents

Electoral system

The election was for all 460 seats of the Sejm and all 100 seats of the Senate. Candidates for Deputies are nominated either by the electoral committees of the various political parties and or by individual voter committees. [1] The process of election for the Sejm is through party-list proportional representation via the D'hondt method in multi-seat constituencies (41 in total), [2] with a 5% threshold for single parties and 8% threshold for coalitions (requirements waived for national minorities). [3]

The election was the first one to take place under a new Election Code which altered the electoral system in the Senate election from a plurality block voting to the first-past-the-post voting, with one member to be returned in each of the 100 single member constituencies. [4] [ better source needed ]

There were 25,993 precincts for 30,512,850 voters. [5]

Senate constituencies. Senat RP okregi.svg
Senate constituencies.

Election date

The date of the election, October 9, was set by the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, [6] and announced on 4 July. The latest possible date for the election to be held was 30 October 2011, [6] four years after the previous election. Prior to the announcement of the election date, the most likely dates were thought to be 16 October or 23 October. [7]

Although the governing coalition had a strong majority, it was suggested that the elections be brought forward to the spring, [8] to avoid the campaign interrupting Poland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year. The idea was supported by the Democratic Left Alliance and Poland Comes First, but firmly opposed by Law and Justice. [9] The Civic Platform favoured an election date of 23 October. [10] Since the State Electoral Commission decided that 30 October falls too close to the national holiday of All Saints' Day, [11] and elections are always held on Sundays, 23 October was the latest possible date to hold the election. In the end, Komorowski decided on 9 October.[ citation needed ]

The idea of holding the election over two days instead of the usual one, to increase turnout, was raised. [10] An election over two days would have cost 130–140 million złoty, compared to 90 million for a one-day election. [11] The single day election option prevailed.

Parties

Civic Platform (PO), the largest governing party under prime minister Donald Tusk, was seeking reelection. Opinion polls over the past four years had fairly consistently shown the PO to have the largest level of popular support among Poland's political parties. PO was seeking either to win majority government in its own right, or to continue its coalition with the smaller Polish People's Party (PSL). During the election campaign, prime minister Donald Tusk ruled out the possibility of a coalition with either Law and Justice or Palikot's Movement.

Law and Justice Law and Justice (PiS), is Poland's second largest party as of 2007, and was the leading party of government from 2005–2007. PiS's greatest difficulty this election, was not only that it trailed PO in popular support, but that even if it were to outpoll the PO, it might have had difficulty in finding other parties willing to enter into a coalition with it. Jarosław Kaczyński had publicly denied the possibility of allying his party with the post-communist SLD and relations with the PSL (traditionally viewed by the media as an opportunist coalition partner, ready to form a coalition with everyone) were tense. This tension was exacerbated following PiS's spokesperson Adam Hofman's statement during the election campaign, in which he attacked PSL members in an abusive manner following the airing of the People's Party newest electoral TV ad.

Democratic Left Alliance Poland's strongest left-wing party, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) had struggled since 2005 to regain its position as one of the countries two largest parties. The SLD indicated its potential interest in being a coalition partner with PO following the election.

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party (PSL) is an agrarian-rooted party. It was the minority partner in a coalition government with PO. [12] Although some opinion polls showed popular support for PSL to be dangerously close to the 5% electoral threshold, in the past PSL generally performed a little better than opinion polls indicated. It is widely seen as a coalition partner for every party that happens to need such.

Palikot's Movement Palikot's Movement (Ruch Palikota), officially the Movement of Support (Ruch Poparcia, RP), is a breakaway faction of the PO that followed MP Janusz Palikot after he had been expelled from the party for his "scandalous" remarks on late President Lech Kaczyński. The RP is distinctive on Poland's political scene in that it is the first party in the country's history that puts strong emphasis on its program's anticlerical features (the usual practice being that parties either try to win the Church's unofficial support or at least do not try to appear anti-Church) along with appeals for putting an end to the anti-abortion policy and introducing civil unions for same-sex couples. In terms of economy, the RP blends leftist[ dubious ] and rightist ideas.

Poland Comes First A new party on the Polish political scene, Poland Comes First (PJN), emerged as a splinter group from PiS, following the 2010 Polish presidential election. PJN's future parliamentary representation was uncertain, given that most opinion polls showed support levels for PJN to be below the 5% electoral threshold. The party had suffered an almost constant internal crisis since its very foundation that led many of its MPs to leave it for the other parties in Parliament, including the most famous one, chairwoman Joanna Kluzik-Rostkowska, who joined the PO. Commentators argue that the PJN failed to establish itself as a real alternative on the political scene, being widely perceived as nothing but a milder variant of the party it had once left.

Other parties The only other party contesting all 41 electoral districts for the Sejm in 2011, was the Polish Labour Party (PPP). The remaining parties include Congress of the New Right (KNP) (21 districts), Right of the Republic (PR) (20 districts), Our Homeland Poland (NDP) (9 districts) and German Minority group (MN) (1 district). With the exception of the German Minority group (which as an ethnic minority party is exempt from the 5% election threshold requirement), these parties were not expected to poll the required 5% to enter the Sejm. Some other minor parties, had decided not to contest the elections independently, opting instead to negotiate a place for their candidates on the electoral lists of the larger parties. This strategy had worked for some minor parties in past elections, and seen them get some of their candidates elected in this way. [13]

Campaign

Tusk campaigned on a platform that drew on the record of its economic success during the previous government. He also said that he would pursue a "steady rapprochement" with Russia, in spite of prior rows over missile defence, gas pipelines and the inquiry into the plane crash that killed Poland's former president in 2010. Conversely the Law and Justice Party had been distrustful of Russia and Germany. [12]

Monitors

Various delegations from the electoral boards and of political party representatives from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, due to hold their own free elections in the coming months, monitored the election in Warsaw, Radom and Płock at the invitations of the Foreign Ministry, as Deputy Foreign Minister Krzysztof Stanowski said that "I hope the climax of our help comes when [the countries’ policymakers] begin discussing the constitution, reforms in economy and local government." Rania Mbarki, from a local election commission in Tunis, said that "it's obligatory to stand in the voting booth before putting pen to paper. Here, the ballot papers are marked on tables with families around. There is a discussion. In our country it's confidential, we can't say what we have chosen, you can't show what you have chosen, so this is different for us;" while Mounira Belghouthi, from a local election board in Kairouan, added that the advanced voting machines were more technologically advanced than in Tunisia and they sought to get an idea its usage. [11]

Opinion polls

Opinion polls in the Polish parliamentary election, 2011 were first recorded on 16 May 2010 and culminated before election day on 9 October. The two largest parties, Civic Platform and the Law and Justice Party, reported significant declines in favourability; however, the former's breakaway Palikot Movement recorded a stellar rise, with little changes for the others.

Results

Powiats won by:
# - Civic Platform
# - Law and Justice
# - Polish People's Party
# - Democratic Left Alliance Wybory parlamentarne 2011 zabory powiaty.png
Powiats won by:
– Civic Platform
– Law and Justice
– Polish People's Party
– Democratic Left Alliance
Sejm election result Procentowe wyniki wyborow do Sejmu.png
Sejm election result
Senate election result by constituency. Polish Senate election results 2011.svg
Senate election result by constituency.

With all votes counted, voter turnout was 48.92%. In the Sejm, Poznań recorded the highest turnout of 60.2% and Elbląg recorded the lowest turnout with 41.24%. The valid votes were 95.48% of the ballots. In the Senate, voter turnout was 48.92% with one of Warszawa I's seats recording the highest turnout of 73.61% and Opole recording the lowest turnout with 38.1%. The valid votes were 96.57% of the ballots. [14]

The Civic Platform party won a plurality with 207 seats in the Sejm, followed by the Law and Justice Party with 157 seats. The breakaway Palikot Movement won 40 seats and the second biggest incumbent coalition party, the Polish People's Party, won 28 seats. The Democratic Left Alliance got 27 seats. [12] In the Senate, Civic Platform won an absolute majority with 63 seats, while Law & Justice came away with 31. The only other party to achieve Senate representation was the Polish People's Party, which won 2 seats. Four independents were also elected. [15]

Sejm

Polish Sejm Election 2011.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Civic Platform 5,629,77339.18207–2
Law and Justice 4,295,01629.89157–9
Palikot's Movement 1,439,49010.0240New
Polish People's Party 1,201,6288.3628–3
Democratic Left Alliance 1,184,3038.2427–26
Poland Comes First 315,3932.190New
Congress of the New Right 151,8371.060New
Polish Labour Party 79,1470.5500
Right Wing of the Republic 35,1690.240New
German Minority Electoral Committee 28,0140.1910
Our Home Poland 9,7330.0700
Total14,369,503100.004600
Valid votes14,369,50395.48
Invalid/blank votes680,5244.52
Total votes15,050,027100.00
Registered voters/turnout30,762,93148.92
Source: PKW

Party breakdown

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Civic Platform Civic Platform 5,123,48635.66191
Independents491,2593.4216
Social Democracy of Poland 13,7160.100
Democratic Party – demokraci.pl 1,3120.010
Total5,629,77339.18207
United Right Law and Justice 3,545,51724.67132
Independents679,7934.7323
National-Catholic Movement 48,6470.341
Movement for Reconstruction of Poland 10,9990.081
Piast Faction 8,6780.060
Right Wing of the Republic [lower-alpha 1] 1,3820.010
Total4,295,01629.89157
Palikot's Movement Palikot's Movement 1,011,5587.0434
Independents310,3252.164
Reason Party 94,4220.661
Democratic Left Alliance [lower-alpha 1] 19,4510.141
Democratic Party – demokraci.pl 1,6140.010
Polish People's Party [lower-alpha 1] 1,5340.010
Total1,438,90410.0140
Polish People's Party Polish People's Party 966,4266.7327
Independents235,1051.641
Total1,201,5318.3628
Democratic Left Alliance Democratic Left Alliance 947,0566.5927
Independents164,8301.150
Labour Union 20,0590.140
Women's Party 13,7510.100
Greens 2004 12,4450.090
Social Democracy of Poland 11,2790.080
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners 7,3260.050
Democratic Party – demokraci.pl 5,0400.040
Movement for Economic Revival 1,0350.010
Party of Regions 5980.000
Polish Communist Party 5180.000
Polish Socialist Party 3600.000
Reason Party 3120.000
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland [lower-alpha 1] 1900.000
Total1,184,7998.2527
Poland Comes First Poland Comes First 192,2831.340
Independents120,4760.840
Alliance of Democrats 5300.000
Polish People's Party [lower-alpha 1] 5160.000
National People's Movement 3820.000
Conservative People's Party 2860.000
League of Polish Families 2650.000
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners 2600.000
Law and Justice [lower-alpha 1] 2390.000
Union of Polish Monarchist Groups1560.000
Total315,3932.190
New Right of
Janusz Korwin-Mikke
Congress of the New Right 78,3590.550
Independents69,1330.480
Real Politics Union 3,3100.020
Party of Greens of the Republic of Poland9070.010
League of Polish Families 1280.000
Total151,8371.060
Polish Labour Party -
August 80
Independents44,2170.310
Polish Labour Party - August 80 31,8570.220
Self-Defence [lower-alpha 1] 3,0120.020
Total79,0860.550
Right Wing of the Republic Independents19,9640.140
Right Wing of the Republic 10,8840.080
Real Politics Union 3,2670.020
Piast Faction 3700.000
League of Polish Families 3600.000
Europe of the Free Homelands650.000
Organisation of the Polish Nation - Polish League 590.000
Christian Democracy of the Third Polish Republic 410.000
Polish Agreement 310.000
Labour Party 180.000
Total35,0590.240
German Minority Independents28,0140.191
Our Home Poland –
Andrzej Lepper's Self-Defence
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland 7,1020.050
Independents2,5520.020
League of Polish Families 600.000
Patriotic Poland  [ pl ]190.000
Total9,7330.070
Total14,369,145100.00460
Source: Pliki Do Pobrania Okręgi wyborcze National Electoral Commission [lower-alpha 2]

Senate

Polish parliamentary election 2011 Senate.png
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Civic Platform 5,173,30035.6063+3
Law and Justice 3,915,35526.9431–8
Polish People's Party 1,363,7969.392+2
Democratic Left Alliance 1,355,1519.3300
Citizens to the Senate 504,7923.470New
Rafał Dutkiewicz Electoral Committee261,1351.801New
Autonomy for Upper Silesia147,7101.020New
Poland Comes First 109,1820.750New
Right Wing of the Republic 82,1150.570New
Polish Labour Party 76,9130.530New
Congress of the New Right 73,0280.500New
W. Lubawskiego Senate for Citizens39,6390.270New
Podhalanie38,2430.260New
German Minority Electoral Committee 34,2470.2400
Civic Poland33,4220.230New
San Valley Self-Government25,2960.170New
Nowy Ekran23,3690.160New
Bezpartyjni.pl19,8250.140New
League for the Defence of Sovereignty 19,4400.130New
Confederation, Dignity and Rule of Law18,2770.130New
Our Home Poland 16,3140.1100
Alliance for Poland 13,8090.100New
Democratic Party 12,8000.0900
Independent to the Senate10,2420.070New
League of Polish Families 8,1670.0600
Ojcowizna3,2270.020New
Patriotic Poland 3,4820.020New
Slavic Union 2,9770.0200
National Revival of Poland 2,9340.0200
Independents1,143,2757.873+2
Total14,531,462100.001000
Valid votes14,531,46296.57
Invalid/blank votes516,7983.43
Total votes15,048,260100.00
Registered voters/turnout30,762,93148.92
Source: PKW, Plankton Polityczny

By constituency

#VoivodeshipCommission#PartyElected member
1 Lower Silesian Legnica I Civic Coalition Jan Michalski
2II Civic Coalition Józef Pinior
3III Law and Justice Dorota Czudowska
4 Wałbrzych I Civic Coalition Wiesław Kilian
5II Civic Coalition Stanisław Jurcewicz
6 Wrocław I Civic Coalition Jarosław Duda
7II Civic Coalition Alicja Chybicka
8IIIRafał Dutkiewicz Electoral CommitteeJarosław Obremski
9 Kuyavian-Pomeranian Bydgoszcz I Civic Coalition Andrzej Kobiak
10II Civic Coalition Jan Rulewski
11 Toruń I Civic Coalition Jan Wyrowiński
12II Civic Coalition Michał Wojtczak
13III Civic Coalition Andrzej Person
14 Lublin Lublin I Law and Justice Stanisław Gogacz
15II Law and Justice Grzegorz Czelej
16III Law and Justice Henryk Cioch
17 Chełm I Law and Justice Grzegorz Bierecki
18II Polish People's Party Józef Zając
19III Law and Justice Jerzy Chróścikowski
20 Lubusz Zielona Góra I Civic Coalition Stanisław Iwan
21II Civic Coalition Helena Hatka
22III Civic Coalition Robert Dowhan
23 Łódź Łódź I Civic Coalition Maciej Grubski
24II Civic Coalition Ryszard Bonisławski
25 Sieradz I Law and Justice Przemysław Błaszczyk
26II Civic Coalition Andrzej Owczarek
27III Law and Justice Michał Seweryński
28 Piotrków Trybunalski I Law and Justice Wiesław Dobkowski
29II Law and Justice Grzegorz Wojciechowski
30 Lesser Poland Kraków I Law and Justice Andrzej Pająk
31II Law and Justice Bogdan Pęk
32III Civic Coalition Janusz Sepioł
33IV Civic Coalition Bogdan Klich
34 Tarnów I Law and Justice Maciej Klima
35II Law and Justice Kazimierz Wiatr
36 Nowy Sącz I Civic Coalition Stanisław Hodorowicz
37II Law and Justice Stanisław Kogut
38 Masovian Płock I Law and Justice Marek Martynowski
39II Law and Justice Jan Jackowski
40 Warszawa I Civic Coalition Anna Aksamit
41II Civic Coalition Łukasz Abgarowicz
42III Independent Marek Borowski
43IV Civic Coalition Marek Rocki
44V Civic Coalition Barbara Borys-Damięcka
45VI Civic Coalition Aleksander Pociej
46 Siedlce I Law and Justice Robert Mamątow
47II Law and Justice Henryk Górski
48III Law and Justice Waldemar Kraska
49 Radom I Law and Justice Stanisław Karczewski
50II Law and Justice Wojciech Skurkiewicz
51 Opole Opole I Civic Coalition Ryszard Knosala
52II Civic Coalition Piotr Wach
53III Civic Coalition Aleksander Świeykowski
54 Subcarpathian Rzeszów I Law and Justice Janina Sagatowska
55II Law and Justice Władysław Ortyl
56III Law and Justice Kazimierz Jaworski
57 Krosno I Law and Justice Alicja Zając
58II Law and Justice Andrzej Matusiewicz
59 Podlaskie Białystok I Law and Justice Bohdan Paszkowski
60II Civic Coalition Tadeusz Arłukowicz
61III Independent Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz
62 Pomeranian Słupsk I Civic Coalition Kazimierz Kleina
63II Civic Coalition Roman Zaborowski
64III Civic Coalition Edmund Wittbrodt
65 Gdańsk I Civic Coalition Bogdan Borusewicz
66II Civic Coalition Andrzej Grzyb
67III Civic Coalition Leszek Czarnobaj
68 Silesian Częstochowa I Civic Coalition Jarosław Lasecki
69II Civic Coalition Andrzej Szewiński
70 Katowice I Civic Coalition Maria Pańczyk-Pozdziej
71II Civic Coalition Andrzej Misiołek
72 Bielsko-Biała I Civic Coalition Adam Zdziebło
73II Civic Coalition Antoni Motyczka
74 Katowice III Civic Coalition Leszek Piechota
75IV Civic Coalition Elżbieta Bieńkowska
76V Civic Coalition Zbigniew Meres
77VI Civic Coalition Bogusław Śmigielski
78 Bielsko-Biała III Civic Coalition Rafał Muchacki
79IV Civic Coalition Tadeusz Kopeć
80 Katowice VII Independent Kazimierz Kutz
81 Świętokrzyskie Kielce I Law and Justice Mieczysław Gil
82II Law and Justice Beata Gosiewska
83III Law and Justice Krzysztof Słoń
84 Warmian-Masurian Elbląg I Civic Coalition Witold Gintowt-Dziewałtowski
85II Civic Coalition Stanisław Gorczyca
86 Olsztyn I Civic Coalition Ryszard Górecki
87II Civic Coalition Marek Konopka
88 Greater Poland Piła I Civic Coalition Mieczysław Augustyn
89II Civic Coalition Jan Libicki
90 Poznań I Civic Coalition Marek Ziółkowski
91II Civic Coalition Jadwiga Rotnicka
92 Konin I Civic Coalition Piotr Gruszczyński
93II Civic Coalition Ireneusz Niewiarowski
94 Kalisz I Civic Coalition Marian Poślednik
95II Polish People's Party Andżelika Możdżanowska
96III Civic Coalition Witold Sitarz
97 West Pomeranian Szczecin I Civic Coalition Norbert Obrycki
98II Civic Coalition Sławomir Preiss
99 Koszalin I Civic Coalition Grażyna Sztark
100II Civic Coalition Piotr Zientarski

Reactions

Civic Platform's Donald Tusk said of the victory that: "It is the highest honour for me and for Civic Platform that we will be working for the next four years for all of you, regardless of who you voted for today. In the next four years we will work twice as hard." [12] The Law and Justice Party's Jaroslaw Kaczynski conceded defeat. [16] Polish financial markets reacted positively to the outcome, while the zloty rose. [17]

Analysis

The Civic Platform was considered to be the big winner of the election, being the only Polish political party to have achieved reelection over the past 20 years of democratic elections. Further to that, PO saw only a very small voter swing against it (-2.3%) and a loss of only two seats from its 2007 outcome which was a record result. The other big winner, was the newly established Palikot Movement, which managed to poll double figures (10%) to come in at third place, ahead of PSL and SLD, both of which were longstanding established parties. Opinion polls, of only a month or so prior to the election, had Palikot's Movement at around 2% of the vote, well below the election threshold. The Polish People's Party (8.4%) managed to hang on to its support base (despite some opinion polls suggesting that they would struggle to achieve the threshold), allowing it to continue its coalition with PO, and maintain its level of representation in the new government.

On the other hand, Law and Justice was one of the big losers in the election. PiS was seeking to defeat PO, but failed to even lift its own vote (falling from over 32% in 2007 to less than 30% in 2011). The other big loser was the Democratic Left Alliance, which for the first time in its history failed to achieve a result above 10% (2001 -40%, 2005 - 11%, 2007 - 13%). It was the first time in which SLD fell to fifth place in party results, and the first time in which it polled below the Polish People's Party. Poland Comes First, failed to capture the middle ground between the two major parties, as it was hoping to do, and lost all of its parliamentary seats, achieving only a very modest 2.2% of the vote.

Bloomberg said of the victory for Civic Platform that, as Poland was the only EU country to avoid a recession in 2009, it could continue with its economic initiatives such as consolidating the budget with an expected shortfall and also to avoid austerity measures that many other EU countries have been forced to endure. It also added that the success of the breakaway Palikot movement, coupled with the People Party's reluctance to support some policies, could provide a counterweight to keeping Civic Platform from getting complacent. [18]

Government formation

Following Civic Platform's victory, Tusk said that his party's coalition alliance with the smaller Polish People's Party would continue. [16] Tusk also declared that his ministry would remain unchanged for the remainder of the year, citing the fact that this was the preferable course of action given Poland's presidency of the EU, which continues to the end of the year. [19]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Individual members running on lists different from their own parties
  2. In result breakdown by candidate provided by the National Electoral Commission, the sum of party votes are different from final released vote totals for coalitions for Palikot's Movement (by 586), Polish People's Party (by 96), Democratic Left Alliance (by 496), Polish Labour Party - August 80 (by 61) and Right Wing of the Republic (by 110). In the table, figures provided for each party are taken from the candidate breakdown while coalition sums are taken from the final result.

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Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 23 September 2001. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The election concluded with an overwhelming victory for the centre-left Democratic Left Alliance – Labor Union, the electoral coalition between the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the Labour Union (UP), which captured 41% of the vote in the crucial lower house Sejm. The 2001 election is recognized as marking the emergence of both Civic Platform (PO) and Law and Justice (PiS) as players in Polish politics, while also witnessing the outright collapse of the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) and its former coalition partner, the Freedom Union (UW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 October 2007. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The largest opposition group, Civic Platform (PO), which soundly defeated the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and its allies. Throughout the campaign, polls showed conflicting results as to which of the two parties had the greater support, yet by the closing week the polls had swung in favour of Civic Platform. Three other political groups won election into the Sejm, the centre-left Left and Democrats coalition, the agrarian Polish People's Party, and the tiny German Minority group. Both of Law and Justice's former minor coalition partners, the League of Polish Families and the Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland suffered an enormous voter backlash, failing to cross the 5% electoral threshold in order to enter the Sejm. Consequently, both parties lost all of their seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 European Parliament election in Poland</span>

The 2009 European Parliament election in Poland was the election of the delegation from Poland to the European Parliament in 2009 which took place on 7 June 2009. On 13 February the Sejm accepted a proposal for an amendment to the electoral court act to allow voting for the European Parliament election of 2009 to take place over 2 days i.e. the 6 and 7 June 2009. However, on 5 March, the proposal was referred to the Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland by the Polish President, Lech Kaczyński. The Polish electorate elected 50 MEPs. In the 27 EU Member States, at total of 736 MEPs were elected from 4–7 June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poland Comes First</span> Political party in Poland

Poland Comes First, also rendered as Poland is the Most Important, shortened to Poland First, and abbreviated to PJN, was a centre-right, conservative liberal, political party in Poland. It was formed as a more moderate breakaway group from Law and Justice (PiS). By early 2011, the party had eighteen members of the Sejm, one member of the Senate, and three members of the European Parliament. Poland Comes First ceased to exist as a political party in December 2013, when it joined the new centre-right party led by Jarosław Gowin named Poland Together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Polish local elections</span>

The 2010 Polish local elections were held in two parts, with its first round on 21 November and the second on 5 December. The first round included elections of deputies to provincial voivodeship sejmiks, as well for gmina and powiat councilors. The second round of elections were marked for mayors, borough leaders, and other positions decided by runoff elections. The local elections were seen as a test to the ruling Civic Platform and Polish People's Party coalition government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sejm Constituency no. 19</span> Polish parliamentary constituency

Warsaw I, officially known as Constituency no. 19, is one of the 41 constituencies of the Sejm, the lower house of the Parliament of Poland, the national legislature of Poland. The constituency was established as Constituency no. 1 in 1991 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Poland. It was renamed Sejm Constituency no. 19 in 2001 following another nationwide re-organisation of constituencies. It is conterminous with the city of Warsaw. Electors living abroad or working aboard ships and oil rigs are included in this constituency. The constituency currently elects 20 of the 460 members of the Sejm using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2023 parliamentary election it had 1,993,723 registered electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Your Movement</span> Political party in Poland

Your Movement was a social liberal, populist and anti-clerical political party in Poland. The party was founded by Janusz Palikot, a former Civic Platform MP, in October 2010 as Palikot's Movement. The party is classified as a centre-left to left-wing party in the context of Polish politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 25 October 2015. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The election was won by the largest opposition party, the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), with 38% of the vote against the governing Civic Platform (PO), which achieved 24%. Official results, announced on 27 October, gave Law and Justice 235 of the 460 seats, a majority of four. PiS vice chairwoman Beata Szydło succeeded PO leader Ewa Kopacz as Prime Minister of Poland, heading a one-party cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) won re-election to a second term retaining its majority in the Sejm. However, it lost its majority in the Senate to the opposition. With 43.6% of the popular vote, Law and Justice received the highest vote share by any party since Poland returned to democracy in 1989. The turnout was the highest for a parliamentary election since the first free elections after the fall of communism in 1989. For the first time after 1989, the ruling party controlled one house, while the opposition controlled the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Coalition (Poland)</span> Liberal electoral alliance in Poland

The European Coalition was a short-lived electoral alliance and list in Poland. It was established on the verge of 2019 European Parliament election by a group of former prime ministers and former foreign ministers, including Jerzy Buzek, Ewa Kopacz, Grzegorz Schetyna and Radosław Sikorski. They declared the will to construct "one broad list in European Parliament election, the aim of which would be to restore Poland's strong position in the European Union". The Coalition is to be pro-European and centrist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Coalition</span> Polish political alliance

The Polish Coalition is a political alliance in Poland. It is led by the Polish People's Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 15 October 2023, per the Polish Constitution. Seats in both the lower house, the Sejm, and the Senate were contested. At the polls, a referendum - containing four questions concerning economic and immigration policy of the government - was also voted on.

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