Elections to local
government in
Poland
Marta Obrębska
An extremely short history of elections
in Poland
• the elections to Sejm in Łęczyca (called First Sejm) in
1182.
• since the Sejm of 1493 Polish kings were obliged to
call regular Sejms and regional elections (sejmiks)
every two years.
• the first modern and free elections in XX century
were held in 1919.
• after the Second World War, Poland fell into the
Soviet sphere of influence
• no elections until the groundbreaking elections of
1989, marking the fall of communism, were free.
Background to modern
local government elections
• 1990
• 27 May 1990
• 1999
• 2002
The Administrative Division of Poland
tier Legislative body Executive body
voivodeship sejmik board
powiat powiat council board
gmina
(minicipality)
gmina council wojt
mayor
city president
Introduction to local government
electoral law in Poland
PRIOR TO 2011
a) the Act on Presidential Election (27 September 1990),
b) the Act on Elections of Municipal, County and Provincial Authorities (16 July
1998),
c) the Act on Elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Senate of
the Republic of Poland (12 April 2001),
d) the Act on Direct Elections of the Head of Commune, the Major and the
President of a City (20 June 2002),
e) the Act on Elections to the European Parliament (23 January 2004).
2011 - Electoral Code
• The existing legal rules have been changed many times since 2011
• Before a validation of the Electoral Code in 1 August 2011 its content was
amended five times
• Up until 31 December 2014 it was amended for the sixth time
• 2015 – more changes
• 2018 – next substantial changes
Local elections as most important
Such research results can be traced back to 2009
66
63
57
52
54
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
local elections presidential elections parliamentary elections
Which elections are the most important?
CBOS research (%)
How important are for people like you
following elections:
0% 50% 100%
local elections
parliamentary elections
presidential elections
elections to EP
6
8
7
15
17
21
21
25
28
28
31
31
47
41
40
25
2
2
1
4
not important at all (1-2)
not very important (3-5)
rather important (6-8)
very important (9-10)
hard to say
Average score (10 point scale)
Local 7,63
Parliamentary 7,20
Presidential 7,24
European Parliament 6,12
How important for people like you are:
1998 2018
presidential
elections
7,75 7,24
parliamentary
elections
7,43 7,20
local elections 7,29 7,63
% of answers „very important” (9-10)
presidential
elections
52 40
parliamentary
elections
45 41
local elections 45 47
Local vs parliamentary elections
15% 15% 12%
23%
15%
20%
49% 48% 55%
54%
50%
59%
37% 37% 33%
23%
35%
20%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
village town
up to
19 999
town
20 000 -
49 999
city
50 000 -
99 999
city
100 000 -
499 999
city
500 000
and more
local elections are
the most
important
both equally
important
parliamentary
elections are the
most important
54%
9%
18%
4% 15%
effectiveness of council's work
good
very good
rather bad
bad
hard to say
53%
14%
16%
4% 13%
effectiveness of wojt/mayor/president's work
good
very good
rather bad
bad
hard to say
Changes in attitudes
I’m interested in
decisions made by:
YES NO HARD TO SAY
2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018
municipality (gmina) 70% 78% 28% 21% 2% 1%
powiat 40% 65% 52% 32% 4% 3%
voivodeship 27% 40% 69% 56% 3% 4%
Sejm, central government,
president
76% 87% 23% 11% 2% 2%
% of respondents declaring interest in decisions
taken by:
88%
76%
82%
75%
79%
73%
65% 63%
69%
63%
38% 40% 39% 38%
46% 43%
84% 84%
91% 88% 91% 91%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
villages town up to
19 999
town
20 000
-49 999
city 50 000
- 99 999
city 100 000 -
499 999
city 500 000
and more
municipality/gmina powiat voivodeship sejm
• Not only the importance of local elections
scores higer
• Also readiness to participate is higher
Elections 2014
49%
17%
15%
6% 13%
Are you going to vote in local elections?
Yes, I definitely will
Probably yes
I don't know yet
I don't think so
No, I won't
Elections 2018
79%
12%
8%
1%
Will you vote in local elections?
Yes, I definitely will
I don't know yet
I will not vote
hard to say
Will you take part in the next elections?
77% 80% 81%
76% 79%
86%
65%
71%
74%
69%
73%
84%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
villages town
up to
19 999
town
20 000 -
49 999
city
50 000 -
99 999
city
100 000 -
499 999
city
500 000
and more
local elections
parliamentary elections
Party or non-party Polish local
government?
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2014 (councils)
LOCAL ELECTIONS 2014 (wojt, mayor, city president)
LOCAL
ELECTIONS
2014
Main cities
and their
presidents
8 PO
2 SLD
1 PIS
6 INDEPENDENT
1 PSL
Invalid votes - statistics
wojt, mayor, city presidents:
I round 2,12% II round 1,24%
• Gmina councils and cities with powiat rights 5,23 %
• Powiat councils 16,67 %
• Voivodeship councils 17,47 %
INVALID VOTES – EMPTY VOTING CARDS
IN LOCAL ELECTIONS
POWIAT
SEJMIKI OF
VOIVODOSHIPS
GMINA
Voter turnout in Polish local elections (%)
42,27
33,78
45,35 44,23 45,99 47,26 47,68
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
20
40
60
I round
II round
47,6
39,7
I round
II round
60,6
64,9
61,1
49,8
54,9
49
0 20 40 60 80
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Presidential elections
62,7
43,2
52,1
47,9
46,3
40,6
53,9
48,9
50,9
0 20 40 60 80
1989
1991
1993
1997
2001
2005
2007
2011
2015
Parliamentary elections
Electoral system
• introduction of single-member districts, and majoritarian rule in
council elections, increased the number of single independents,
unaffiliated to any party or committee, and limited the presence
of party candidates and councillors.
• the design of the electoral system used in the elections of local
councils affects the position of national parties and their main
competitors, local independent lists.
Changes in electoral law: 2015 and 2018
• Just one re-election for wojt, mayor, city president
• 5 year term
• SMD just for municipalities uder 20 000
• Different definition of „x”
• Postal voting
• Live-feed or a recording on PKW website
• Changes to the functioning of the National Election
Commission
• Changes to the functioning of the National Election
Bureau
Just one re-election – is it a problem?
City / population size /status in
voivodeship
City president Number of times elected Affiliation
Gdansk 461,000
Poland principal seaport
Capital of Pomeranian V.
Pawel
Adamowicz
Elected 1998
Re-elected 2002, 2006 (first round
61%), 2010, 2014
PO
Krakow 762,000
Capital of the Malopolskie V.
Jacek
Majchrowski
Elected 2002
Re-elected 2006, 2010, 2012
Indep.
Rzeszow 185,000
Capital of the Podkarpackie V.
Tadeusz
Ferenc
Elected 2002
Re-elected 2006 (77%), 2010 (53%),
2014 (66%)
SLD
Szczecin 407,000
Capital of the West Pomeranian V.
Piotr Krzystek Elected 2006
Re-elected 2010, 2014 Indep.
Warsaw 1,754,000
Capital of Poland, Capital the
Mazowieckie V.
Hanna
Gronkiewicz-
Waltz
Elected 2006 She is the first woman
to hold this position.
Re-elected 2010 (53,67%), 2014
PO
Wroclaw 634,000
Capital of the Lower Silesian V.
Rafal
Dutkiewicz
Elected 2002
Re-elected 2006 (1st round
84,53%), 2010 (1st round 72%),
2014
Indep.
National Election Commission (PKW)
• ROLE: oversees the entire electoral process.
• Currently:
9 active or retired judges nominated by: the Constitutional
Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative
Court (each nominates three members).
• New law:
7 members nominated by the Sejm
The Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Administrative
Court nominate just one member each.
• The Supreme Court — which protested loudly against
the politicization of judiciary in 2017 — would lose its
representation in the PKW.
National Election Bureau (KBW)
• ROLE: provides administrative support for the PKW.
• Currently, the PKW selects the executive of the KBW.
• New law:
• PKW loses the freedom to independently choose the
executive of the KBW.
• The president, the Sejm and the Senate nominate one
candidate each. The PKW selects the executive from one
of these three.
• Ultimately the choice goes to the government
• The same is with the nomination of commissioners (100)
Consequences of latest reforms
Batory foundation:
The changes in Electoral Code:
• carry a threat of making PKW and KBW a party
dependent institutions
• undermine electoral rules and stability of
elections
• change rules of rivalization in the eve of elections
Great expectations vs Low turnout - possible reasons
The propensity of low frequency has lasted for decades
• a lack of appropriate civil education in terms of the electoral law
• a lack of civil engagement in local issues
• ‘the noise’ pertaining to the Electoral Code,
• Many amendments and high frequency of alteration of the Electoral
Code do not prove its high quality.
• Result : misunderstandings and unwillingness to participate in
elections. Their effect is low voter turnout and a large number of
invalid votes.
Local Elections – Most Important, Still, Not
Enough To Go and Vote
Local Elections – Most Important, Still, Not
Enough To Go and Vote
Tadeusz Mazowiecki :
“Poland needs a citizen’s presence, which gives strength
to the electoral process today and in the future.
Passivity and resignation, at times in history, have spelt
the death knell of democracy”
the first Prime Minister of the first non-communist
government which was elected in 1989 in Poland