Electoral system in the 1993-1997 Polish parliamentary election
The elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in the period 1993-1997 were conducted using the electoral system specified in the constitutional provisions and in the Act Electoral Ordinance to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. The electoral system for the Sejm underwent radical changes compared to the one applied in 1991. The structure of electoral districts was completely changed, the electoral formula was also changed - both with regard to the electoral method applied and the electoral threshold for participation in the distribution of seats at the district level was introduced. The electoral thresholds for the national list were also changed.
The electoral system (in its narrower sense) consists of the following elements:
- The structure of the electoral districts (their number, boundaries and the number of seats to be distributed in each district),
- The manner in which the election results are determined (this is determined by the electoral formula and the elements contained therein such as the electoral method or the statutory electoral thresholds),
- The method of voting (in other words, the powers of the voter when voting - how many votes he or she has, whether he or she can accumulate them, etc.).
Structure of electoral districts
In the 1993-1997 Sejm elections, the country was divided into 52 multi-mandate constituencies in which (a total of) 391 seats were distributed. The remaining 69 seats were distributed at the level of the whole country (one nationwide constituency) on the basis of the number of votes obtained by all the constituency lists of the groupings concerned (national lists were not voted on separately).
The division into districts was based on the division of the country into provinces (of which there were 49 at the time). Only in the case of the most populous voivodeships - Warsaw and Katowice - was it allowed to divide them, but the boundaries of the districts could not encroach on the boundaries of the communes (there were no poviats then).
The smallest constituencies were District No. 3 (Biala Podlaskie Voivodeship) and District No. 7 (Chełmskie Voivodeship), in which 3 Members each were elected, and the largest was District No. 1 (City of Warsaw), in which 17 Members were elected. The average number of seats in the districts was 7.52. 391 The seats were distributed in each constituency on the basis of the number of votes obtained by the lists of individual committees in the constituency. The remaining 69 seats were distributed at the national level (nationwide constituency) among the national lists submitted.
The votes of Polish citizens voting outside Poland were counted in Ward 1 (City of Warsaw).
The detailed list of districts with the number of seats is shown in the table.
Electoral formula
The 1993-1997 elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland were conducted using a proportional representation formula using the d'Hondt method - both for the 52 constituencies and the nationwide constituency. The distribution of seats took place separately in each of the 52 constituencies and separately at the national level.
In these elections, a statutory threshold was applied relating to the valid votes cast nationwide. In order to take part in the distribution of seats, the electoral lists of a given committee (in total) had to exceed the threshold of 8% (electoral coalition committee or 5% (other committees). To take part in the distribution of seats among the national lists, one had to obtain at least 7% of the validly cast votes nationwide.
The electoral committees of registered national minority organisations were entitled to an exemption from the selected threshold (either for participation in the distribution of seats in the districts or for participation in the distribution of seats among the national lists).
Method of voting
Each voter had one vote, which he or she cast for the electoral list of his or her choice submitted by the electoral committee in the district, together with an indication of the specific candidate on that list to whom he or she was giving his or her support. Open lists were therefore used at district level. Candidates on a given ward committee list took their seats in order of the number of votes obtained. If a seat became vacant, priority was given to the next candidate on the same list according to the number of votes obtained. The situation was different with regard to national lists. The voter did not cast a separate vote for them and a vote for the district list automatically implied support for the national list as well. The seats allocated to the individual national lists were allocated to candidates in the order of their placement on the list (excluding those candidates who obtained seats in the constituencies). Closed lists were therefore used.
Maciej Onasz, based on: Onasz Maciej, Inżynieria wyborcza w Polsce od roku 1989, Łódź 2017.
photo by: Krzysztof Białoskórski
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