1991 Polish parliamentary election

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1991 Polish parliamentary election
Flag of Poland.svg
  1989 27 October 1991 (1991-10-27) 1993  
Registered27,517,280
Sejm

All 460 seats in the Sejm
231 seats needed for a majority
Turnout11,887,949 (43.20%)
PartyLeaderVote %Seats
UD Tadeusz Mazowiecki 12.3262
SLD Aleksander Kwaśniewski 11.9960
WAK Wiesław Chrzanowski 8.7449
POC Jarosław Kaczyński 8.7144
PSL Waldemar Pawlak 8.6748
KPN Leszek Moczulski 7.5046
KLD Donald Tusk 7.4937
PSL-PL Józef Ślisz  [ pl ]5.4728
KO "S" Marian Krzaklewski 5.0527
PPPP Janusz Rewiński 3.2716
ChD N/A2.365
UPR Janusz Korwin-Mikke 2.263
SP R. Bugaj & K. Modzelewski 2.064
SD Aleksander Mackiewicz 1.421
KWMN Henryk Kroll 1.187
PChD Krzysztof Pawłowski  [ pl ]1.124
X Stanisław Tymiński 0.473
RDS Zbigniew Bujak 0.461
LPW "Piast" [a] N/A0.371
RAŚ Paweł Musioł  [ pl ]0.362
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Senate

All 100 seats in the Senate
51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout11,887,865 (43.20%)
PartyVote %Seats
UD 16.4221
SLD 10.614
KO "S" 9.6811
POC 9.049
WAK 8.719
PSL 7.387
KLD 6.536
KPN 4.674
PSL-PL 3.145
PChD 2.223
Independents 16.1821
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
1991 Polish parliamentary election.svg
Results of the Polish 1991 Sejm election by gmina.svg
1991 Polish parliamentary election by Voivodeship - all parties.svg
Government beforeGovernment after election
Bielecki cabinet  [ pl ]
KLDUDPCZChNSD
Olszewski cabinet
PCZChNPSL-PLSLCh

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 27 October 1991 to elect deputies to both houses of the National Assembly. [1] The 1991 election was notable on several counts. It was the first parliamentary election to be held since the formation of the Third Republic, the first entirely free and competitive legislative election since the fall of communism, the first completely free legislative election of any sort since 1928. Due to the collapse of the Solidarity political wing, the Solidarity Citizens' Committee, the 1991 election saw deep political fragmentation, with a multitude of new parties and alliances emerging in its wake. [2] Low voting thresholds within individual constituencies, along with a five percent national threshold allocated to a small portion of the Sejm, additionally contributed to party fragmentation. [3] As a result, 29 political parties gained entry into the Sejm and 22 in the Senate, with no party holding a decisive majority. Two months of intense coalition negotiations followed, with Jan Olszewski of the Centre Agreement forming a minority government along with the Christian National Union, remnants of the broader Centre Civic Alliance, and the Peasants' Agreement, with conditional support from Polish People's Party, Solidarity list and other minor parties. [4]

Contents

460 members of parliament (Polish : poseł) were elected; 391 from 6980 candidates from 37 regional lists of candidates and 69 from country-wide lists of candidates. In the Sejm elections, 27,517,280 citizens were eligible to vote, 11,887,949 (43.2%) of them cast their votes and 11,218,602 (94.4%) of the votes were counted as valid. In the Senate elections, 43.2% of citizens cast their votes, 96.5% were valid.

Elections were supervised by the National Electoral Commission (Polish : Państwowa Komisja Wyborcza). 37 regional (Polish : okręgowe) commissions were formed, and 22,341 district (Polish : obwodowe), staffed by 197,389 citizens.

A total of 111 parties contested the elections, of which 29 won parliamentary seats. The success of the satirical Polish Beer-Lovers' Party with 16 seats gained news coverage worldwide.

Results

Sejm

PartyVotes%Seats
Democratic Union 1,382,05112.3262
Democratic Left Alliance 1,344,82011.9960
Catholic Electoral Action 980,3048.7449
Centre Civic Alliance 977,3448.7144
Polish People's Party 972,9528.6748
Confederation of Independent Poland 841,7387.5046
Liberal Democratic Congress 839,9787.4937
Peasants' Agreement 613,6265.4728
Solidarity 566,5535.0527
Polish Beer-Lovers' Party 367,1063.2716
Christian Democracy 265,1792.365
Real Politics Union 253,0242.263
Labour Solidarity 230,9752.064
Democratic Party 159,0171.421
German Minority Electoral Committee 132,0591.187
Party of Christian Democrats 125,3141.124
Polish Ecological Party - Greens  [ pl ]91,7260.820
"Healthy Poland" - Ecological Alliance89,0340.790
Freedom Party  [ pl ]78,7040.700
National Party 74,0820.660
Coalition of the Polish Ecological Party and Polish Greens Party  [ pl ]71,0430.630
Party X 52,7350.473
Democratic-Social Movement 51,6560.461
Ludowe Porozumienie Wyborcze "Piast" [a] 42,0310.371
Silesian Autonomy Movement 40,0610.362
Christian-Peasant Bloc36,6650.330
Christian-Social Movement "Covenant"  [ pl ]30,0920.270
Minority Electoral Bloc29,4280.260
Solidarni z Prezydentem [b] 27,5860.251
Związek Podhalan  [ pl ]26,7440.241
Polish Western Union [d] 26,0530.234
Republican Coalition  [ pl ]23,5060.210
Social Democratic Union of Greater Poland  [ pl ]23,1880.211
Independent Self-Governing Trade Union of Policemen  [ pl ]22,4440.200
Jedności Ludowej [e] 18,9020.171
Craftsmanship and Petty Bourgeoisie14,0890.130
Orthodox Electoral Committee 13,7880.121
"Solidarność 80"  [ pl ] [f] 12,7690.111
Self-Governing Republic Union 11,9550.110
NSZZ "Solidarność 80"  [ pl ] [f] 11,2970.100
Coalition of Female Circles10,5870.090
Citizens' Committee in Tarnów9,7040.090
Unia Wielkopolan  [ pl ]9,0190.081
Confederation of Private Employers8,4460.080
List of Chairman Zbigniew Morawski8,3790.070
Regional Electoral Forum7,7240.070
German Minority "Reconciliation and Future"6,1080.050
Belarusian Electoral Committee6,0810.050
Greater Polish Self-Governing Coalition5,9390.050
Independent - Entrepreneurs5,6040.050
Tenants and Pensioners in Solidarity5,4970.050
Our Poland - Independents list5,4720.050
Radom Popular-Selfgoverning List5,3180.050
Polish National Community - Polish National Party  [ pl ]5,2620.050
Trade Union of PKP Machinists  [ pl ]5,1420.050
VICTORIA Party5,0000.040
Handicapped, Retirees and Pensioners4,9550.040
Citizens' Committees4,9340.040
Electoral Committee of Selfgoverning Gmina4,7110.040
Movement of Common Ownership4,6480.040
Citizens' Agreement with the "S" Delegation4,5010.040
Independent Farmers "Kłos"4,1900.040
NSZZ "Solidarność" 80 im.ks.J.Popiełuszki  [ pl ] [f] 4,0730.040
Nonpartisan List of Radom Voivodeship Gmina4,0030.040
Polish Union of Pensioners and the Handicapped in Legnica3,9580.040
Association of Catholic Families  [ pl ]3,9390.040
Nonpartisan List of Independents3,7630.030
Trade Unions in the Defence of Society3,7590.030
Agreement of Citizens' Committees3,6110.030
Polish Party of the Homeless3,4910.030
Movement in the Defence of Selfgovernance3,3540.030
Provincial Farmers' Self-Defence Committee 3,2470.030
God, Honor, Fatherland3,1950.030
Voters of Gmina in Kurpie3,0600.030
Social Committee for Defending the Rule of Law  [ pl ]3,0070.030
Polish Society of War Veterans 2,9100.030
Polish People's Christian Forum "Fatherland"  [ pl ] [g] 2,9020.030
Lesser Polish Independent Electoral Committee2,7860.020
Wrocław Beyond Divisions2,7430.020
Wielkopolan Union2,7180.020
Regional Movement of Citizens' Committees in Zawiercie  [ pl ]2,6840.020
Independent Entrepreneurship List2,6320.020
Conservative-Liberal Party2,5780.020
Selfgoverning Electoral Committee2,3610.020
Craftsmanship2,2610.020
National Electoral Committee  [ pl ]2,1020.020
Association 20002,0440.020
Polish Nursing Society  [ pl ]1,9340.020
Northeastern Farming Association1,9280.020
Alliance of Women Against the Hardships of Life [h] 1,9220.021
Bloc of Industry and Technical Circles1,9140.020
Polish Prosperity Party1,8920.020
National-Liberal Movement1,8180.020
Mazowsze Electoral Union1,7930.020
Social Justice Party1,7920.020
Movement "Rescue for Zagłębie"1,6580.010
Labour Movement Independents [i] 1,6090.010
Social-Military Voters' Forum "Baszta"1,4750.010
Polski Związek Działkowców  [ pl ]1,4640.010
Independent Electoral Committee of Wielkopolan Women 911,3450.010
Labour Movement Independents [j] 1,3290.010
Self-Governance1,1190.010
Group of Independent Candidates1,0750.010
Independents '911,0480.010
"Give Us a Chance"1,0000.010
New Poland Movement9670.010
Polish Independence Party  [ pl ]8310.010
Electoral Committee of PKPS Workers6960.010
Independent Social Association "WIS"6940.010
Firefighters' Social Electoral Committee6710.010
Electoral Committee Polish Charity Society6080.010
Total11,218,602100.00460
Valid votes11,218,60294.37
Invalid/blank votes669,3475.63
Total votes11,887,949100.00
Registered voters/turnout27,517,28043.20
Source: National Electoral Commission [10]

By constituency

No.ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
UD SLD WAK PSL KPN POC KLD PL KO "S" PPPP KWMN Others
1Warsaw I1732113313
2Warsaw II81111121
3Płock10111211111
4Łódź12222111111
5Piotrków Trybunalski71111111
6Konin911121111
7Radom81121111
8Kielce11121211111
9Częstochowa811111111
10Opole1011111113
11Wroclaw12321111111
12Wałbrzych811111111
13Jelenia Góra11221111111
14Zielona Góra11121211111
15Kalisz71111111
16Toruń11121111112
17Bydgoszcz11121111112
18Poznań142211111113
19Gorzów Wielkopolski10121111111
20Szczecin10211111111
21Koszalin91111113
22Gdańsk152121113121
23Olsztyn132212111111
24Ostrołęka1211321121
25Białystok12122111112
26Siedlce101112113
27Zamość71111111
28Lublin10111121111
29Rzeszów13112211212
30Przemyśl911121111
31Tarnów7111112
32Nowy Sącz71111111
33Kraków1331112113
34Bielsko-Biała9111111111
35Sosnowiec1012121111
36Katowice172211122114
37Gliwice132111111113
National list691110778765431
Total46062604948464437282716736
Source: National Electoral Commission

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats
Democratic Union 3,764,15616.4221
Democratic Left Alliance 2,431,17810.614
Solidarity 2,219,1609.6811
Centre Civic Alliance 2,071,0459.049
Catholic Electoral Action 1,995,8668.719
Polish People's Party 1,691,5667.387
Liberal Democratic Congress 1,497,7186.536
Confederation of Independent Poland 1,071,3644.674
Peasants' Agreement 719,7783.145
Party of Christian Democrats 507,7222.223
Democratic Party 453,7211.980
Party X 417,8571.820
Real Politics Union 371,8911.620
Local lists and independents3,708,34416.1821
Total22,921,366100.00100
Valid votes11,474,84696.53
Invalid/blank votes413,0193.47
Total votes11,887,865100.00
Registered voters/turnout27,517,28043.20
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

By voivodeship

VoivodeshipTotal seatsSeats won
UD KO "S" POC WAK PSL KLD PL SLD KPN PChD Others
Biała Podlaska 211
Białystok 211
Bielsko 211
Bydgoszcz 211
Chełm 211
Ciechanów 211
Częstochowa 211
Elbląg 211
Gdańsk 211
Gorzów 211
Jelenia Góra 211
Kalisz 22
Katowice 3111
Kielce 211
Konin 211
Koszalin 211
Kraków 211
Krosno 211
Legnica 211
Leszno 211
Lublin 211
Łomża 22
Łódź 211
Nowy Sącz 211
Olsztyn 211
Opole 211
Ostrołęka 211
Piła 22
Piotrków 211
Płock 211
Poznań 211
Przemyśl 211
Radom 211
Rzeszów 211
Siedlce 22
Sieradz 211
Skierniewice 211
Słupsk 211
Suwałki 211
Szczecin 211
Tarnobrzeg 211
Tarnów 211
Toruń 211
Wałbrzych 22
Warsaw 321
Włocławek 22
Wrocław 211
Zamość 211
Zielona Góra 211
Total10021119986744318
Source: National Electoral Commission

Notes

  1. 1 2 Regional electoral list of the Polish People's Party in Tarnów Voivodeship. [5]
  2. Regional electoral list of the Catholic Electoral Action in Kraków Voivodeship. [5]
  3. Sattelite party of the Confederation of Independent Poland. All four elected members seated in KPN's parliamentary club. [c]
  4. Regional electoral list of the Polish People's Party in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship. [5]
  5. 1 2 3 Part of Solidarność 80  [ pl ]
  6. Majority of party contested as part of Center Civic Alliance, only ran independently in Rzeszów Voivodeship
  7. Regional electoral list of the Confederation of Independent Poland in Kraków Voivodeship. [5]
  8. List 68
  9. List 67

      References

      1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p. 1491 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
      2. Millard, Francis (September 1994). "The Shaping of the Polish Party System, 1989-93". East European Politics & Societies. 8 (3): 467–494. doi:10.1177/0888325494008003005.
      3. Lundberg, Thomas. "Political Transition in Hungary and Poland". Voting and Democracy Report: 1995. Center for Voting and Democracy. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
      4. Jasiewicz, Krzysztof (1 January 1992). "From Solidarity to Fragmentation" (PDF). Journal of Democracy. 3 (2): 55–69. doi:10.1353/jod.1992.0024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
      5. 1 2 3 4 Jaworski, Stefan J.; Czaplicki, Kazimierz W. (2011). Księga pamiątkowa z okazji obchodów 20-lecia demokratycznych wyborów w Polsce (in Polish). Warsaw: Zespół Prawny i Organizacji Wyborów Krajowego Biura Wyborczego. p. 76. ISBN   978-83-926304-4-9.
      6. "Ryszard Bogusz".
      7. "Janina Kraus".
      8. "Danuta Wierzbicka".
      9. "Kazimierz Wilk".
      10. "Wybory do Sejmu w 1991 r." National Electoral Commission (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-02-09.