1.
Poland
–
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
Poland
–
Reconstruction of a
Bronze Age,
Lusatian culture settlement in
Biskupin, c. 700 BC
Poland
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Flag
Poland
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Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler; King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland being presented with a
Liturgical book by
Matilda of Swabia, 1025–1031
Poland
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Drawing of the
Battle of Grunwald, which was fought against the
German Order of Teutonic Knights, 15 July 1410
2.
Constitution of Poland
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The current Constitution of Poland was adopted on 2 April 1997. It was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997, approved by a referendum on 25 May 1997. Poland has had numerous previous constitutional acts during its history, historically, the most significant is probably the May Constitution adopted on 3 May 1791. The five years after 1992 were spent in dialogue about the new character of Poland, the nation had changed significantly since 1952 when the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of Poland was instituted. Mindful of the experiences of the times when fundamental freedoms. Many articles were written explicitly to rectify the wrongs of previous governments, in response to communist-era collective farming, Article 23 established the family farm as the basis of the agricultural economy. Article 74 requires public officials to pursue ecologically sound public policy and those involved in drafting the document were not interested in creating a de facto Catholic Poland. That said, nods were given in the direction of the church, for example, in Article 18, marriage is granted the protection of the state, and in Article 53, freedom of religion, religious education, and religious upbringing are protected. The first major privilege was granted in Košice by Louis Andegavin on September 17,1374, in order to guarantee the Polish throne for his daughter Jadwiga, he agreed to abolish all but one tax the szlachta was required to pay. On May 2,1447 the same king issued the Wilno Privilege which gave the Lithuanian boyars the same rights as possessed by the Polish szlachta. In September and October 1454 Casimir IV granted the Cerkwica and Nieszawa Privileges which forbade the king to set new taxes and these privileges were demanded by the szlachta as a compensation for their participation in the Thirteen Years War. In the spring of 1505 king Alexander signed a bill adopted by the Diet of Radom known as Nihil novi nisi commune consensu, the Nihil novi act transferred legislative power from the king to the Diet, or Polish parliament. This date marked the beginning of the First Rzeczpospolita, the period of a szlachta-run republic, until the death of Sigismund Augustus, the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, monarchs could only be elected from within the royal family. However, starting from 1573, practically any Polish noble or foreigner of royal blood could become a Polish-Lithuanian monarch, every newly elected king was required sign two documents - the Pacta conventa - a confirmation of the kings pre-election promises, and Henrican articles. Sejm Constitution of 1590 In the 18th century, the introduction of Cardinal Laws in 1768 was an important step towards codifying the existing Polish law, the Polish Constitution of May 3,1791 is called the first constitution of its kind in Europe by historian Norman Davies. It was instituted by the Government Act adopted on that date by the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and it was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the federative Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its Golden Liberty. The Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility and placed the peasants under the protection of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom. The May 3rd Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the countrys reactionary magnats, with a more egalitarian, the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution provoked the active hostility of the Polish Commonwealths neighbors
Constitution of Poland
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May 3rd Constitution (painting by
Jan Matejko, 1891). King Stanisław August (left, in regal
ermine -trimmed cloak), enters
St. John's Cathedral, where
Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new
Constitution; in background,
Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.
Constitution of Poland
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Poland
3.
Human rights in Poland
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Human rights in Poland are guaranteed by the second chapter of the Constitution. Elements of what is called now human rights may be found in early times of the Polish state, the Statute of Kalisz, the General Charter of Jewish Liberties introduced numerous right for the Jews in Poland, leading to an autonomous nation within a nation. The Warsaw Confederation of 1573 confirmed the religious freedom of all residents of Poland, gathered at Warsaw, all nobles signed a document in which representatives of all major religions pledged mutual support and tolerance. The following eight or nine decades of prosperity and relative security witnessed the appearance of a virtual galaxy of sparkling intellectual figures. Poland has ratified the International Criminal Court agreement, corporal punishment is entirely prohibited since 2010. Death Penalty is abolished for all crimes as noted by Amnesty International, the article Article 54 states,1. The freedom to express opinions, to acquire and to disseminate information shall be ensured to everyone, preventive censorship of the means of social communication and the licensing of the press shall be prohibited. The state of womens rights in Poland is moderately good, feminism in Poland started in 1800s in the age of foreign Partitions marked by the gross abuse of power especially by the Russians, which impacted the rights of women as well. However, prior to the last Partition in 1795, tax-paying females were allowed to take part in political life, polands precursor of feminism under Partitions, Narcyza Żmichowska who founded a group of Suffragettes in 1842, was jailed by the Russians for three years. Since 1918, following the return to independence, all women could vote, Poland was the 15th country to introduce universal womens suffrage. Nevertheless, there is a number of issues concerning women in modern-day Poland such as the abortion rights, domestic Violence, according to 2011 report by TheNews. pl website run by the Polish Radio, is perceived by one in five respondents as a problem. Some 13 percent said that abuse is a private family matter. At the same time,16 percent said that there are situations when violence is justified in the home, some 26 percent of Poles claim that they have been victims of physical violence. Rape is illegal and punishable by up to 12 years in prison, sexual harassment is under-reported due to societal views. In January 2014, a reform was introduced to simplify the procedure as well as make it a criminal offence pursued by the state. An abortion is difficult to obtain in Poland by official means. In the field of employment, due to perceptions of womens roles, Poland country signed the UN LGBT rights Declaration, but same-sex unions are not recognized in Poland. However, Poland is not on the list of countries with state-sponsored homophobia, homosexuality was confirmed legal in 1932, and Poland also recognises gender change and requires no sterilisation of its transgender citizens
Human rights in Poland
–
Narcyza Żmichowska, precursor of
feminism in Poland
4.
Politics of Poland
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Politics of Poland takes place in the framework of a democracy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government of a multi-party system and the President is the head of state. Executive power is exercised by the President and the Government, which consists of a council of ministers led by the Prime Minister and its members are typically chosen from a majority coalition in the lower house of parliament, although exceptions to this rule are not uncommon. The government is formally announced by the president, and must pass a motion of confidence in the Sejm within two weeks, legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament, Sejm and Senate. Members of Sejm are elected by proportional representation, with the proviso that non-ethnic-minority parties must gain at least 5% of the vote to enter the lower house. Parliamentary elections occur at least every four years, the political system is defined in the Polish Constitution, which also guarantees a wide range of individual freedoms. The judicial branch plays a role in politics, apart from the Constitutional Tribunal. The prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers, the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, the prime minister and deputy prime ministers are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm. The Council of Ministers is responsible to the minister and the Sejm. The President is elected by terms, as head of state, supreme commander of the Armed Forces, the President has the right to veto legislation, although veto may be overridden by the assembly by a three-fifths majority vote. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President shall appoint the Chief of the General Staff, the President may, regarding particular matters, convene the Cabinet Council, although it does not possess the competence of the Council of Ministers. The Senate has 100 members elected for a term under the single member. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly, only the first kind has occurred to date. Since 1991 elections are supervised by the National Electoral Commission, whose division is called the National Electoral Office. Polands top national security goal is to integrate with NATO and other west European defense, economic. Polish military doctrine reflects the same nature as its NATO partners. The combined consists of 100,300 active duty personnel and in addition 234,000 reserves, in 2009 the Armed Forces transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. The Polish Defense Ministry General Staff and the Land Forces staff have recently reorganized the latter into a NATO-compatible J/G-1 through J/G-6 structure, budget constraints hamper such priority defense acquisitions as a multi-role fighter, improved communications systems, and an attack helicopter. Poland is an ally of the US in Europe and leads the Multinational Division Central-South in Iraq
Politics of Poland
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Sejm Plenary Hall
Politics of Poland
–
Poland
5.
President of Poland
–
The President of the Republic of Poland is the Polish head of state. His or her rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Poland, the president heads the executive branch. In addition the president has a right to dissolve the parliament in certain cases, the first president of Poland, Gabriel Narutowicz, was sworn in as president of the Second Republic on 11 December 1922. He was elected by the National Assembly under the terms of the 1921 Constitution of Poland, previously Józef Piłsudski had been Chief of State under the provisional 1919 Constitution. Who was fed up with regional bickering, staged a coup deposed the president and had the National Assembly elect a new one, Ignacy Mościcki, under the thumb of Sanacja. Just before Piłsudski died, parliament passed the 1935 April Constitution of Poland which incorporated Piłsudskis ideals, Mościcki continued as president until he resigned following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. The transfer from Mościcki to Raczkiewicz was in accordance with Article 24 of the 1935 April Constitution and he served until the 1952 Constitution eliminated the office of the president. Following the 1989 amendments to the constitution restored the presidency, Wojciech Jaruzelski. In Polands first direct election, Lech Wałęsa won and was sworn in on 22 December 1990. The office of the president was continued in the Constitution of 1997, which now provides the requirements for, the duties of, the President of Poland is elected directly by the people to serve for five years and can be reelected only once. Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the President is elected by an absolute majority, if no candidate succeeds in passing this threshold, a second round of voting is held with the participation of the two candidates with the largest and second largest number of votes respectively. The President has the right to initiate the legislative process, the President also makes decisions on award of highest academic titles, as well as state distinctions and orders. In addition, he has the right of clemency, viz. he can dismiss final court verdicts. The President performs his duties with the help of the offices, the Chancellery of the President, the Office of National Security. Several properties are owned by the Office of the President and are used by the Head of State as his or her official residence, the Presidential Palace in Warsaw is largest palace in Warsaw and the official seat of the President of the Republic of Poland since 1993. The first presidential tenant was Lech Wałęsa when he moved to the Palace from Belweder in 1994, the palace also serves as an official residence for heads of state on official visits to Poland and other important guests. Presidential Castle in Wisła in a built for the Habsburgs as their hunting cottage. Since 2002 it is again a property of the President, restored and opened in 2005 by the President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and it is today a recreational and conference centre for the President and a hotel
President of Poland
–
Incumbent
Andrzej Duda since 6 August 2015
President of Poland
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Presidential Jack
President of Poland
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Presidential Palace on
Krakowskie Przedmieście in
Warsaw, with equestrian statue of Prince
Józef Poniatowski by
Bertel Thorvaldsen. Official seat of the presidency.
President of Poland
–
The
Belweder Palace, often known simply as 'The Belweder', is the traditional and current official residence of the President.
6.
Andrzej Duda
–
Andrzej Sebastian Duda is a Polish lawyer, politician and, since 6 August 2015, the sixth President of Poland. Before the 2015 elections, he was a member of Polish Sejm, Andrzej Duda was born in Kraków, the son of Janina Milewska and Jan Tadeusz Duda, professors at the AGH University of Science and Technology. His grandfather fought in the Polish–Soviet War and later in the Home Army during the Second World War and he attended Jan III Sobieski High School, Kraków. He studied law at the Jagiellonian University, in October 2001 he was appointed as an assistant in Administrative Law Department of Jagiellonian University, and in January 2005 obtained a PhD degree in law there. Due to his career, he has been mostly on unpaid leave since September 2006, except for a 13-month interval beginning in September 2010. Duda began his career with the now-defunct Freedom Union Party in the early 2000s. After the parliamentary elections in 2005, he began his collaboration with the Law, from 2006 to 2007 he was an undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Justice. From 2007 to 2008 he was a member of the Polish State Tribunal, from 2008 to 2010 he was an undersecretary of state in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland during the presidency of Lech Kaczyński. However, he did not sit out the term, becoming elected in 2014 as a member of the European Parliament. In the first round of the 2015 presidential election, he came in first, receiving 5,179,092 votes, in the second round he took 51. 55% of the vote against the 48. 45% share of his rival, incumbent president Bronisław Komorowski. On 26 May 2015, he resigned from party membership. The five-year term of Andrzej Duda began on August 6,2015 with taking an oath of office during a National Assembly session, Duda rejected the European Unions proposal of migrant quotas to redistribute asylum seekers, saying, I won’t agree to a dictate of the strong. I won’t back a Europe where the advantage of the size of a population will be a reason to force solutions on other countries regardless of their national interests. Eventually Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz declared that Poland, as an expression of “European solidarity, according to some lawyers Duda has breached the Constitution of Poland. On 3 and 9 December 2015 the president has sworn in five candidates for the same office selected by the Sejm of the VIII cadence. In June 2016 Duda rejected appointing 10 judges selected by the National Council of the Judiciary of Poland, Duda is married to Agata Kornhauser, a teacher of German at Jan III Sobieski High School in Kraków. They had met at a party while still attending rival schools and have been married since 21 December 1994, together they have one daughter, Kinga, born in 1995, now also studying law. His father-in-law is Julian Kornhauser, a writer, translator
Andrzej Duda
–
Andrzej Duda
7.
Prime Minister of Poland
–
The President of the Council of Ministers, colloquially referred to as the Prime Minister of Poland, is the leader of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The current responsibilities and traditions of the stem from the creation of the contemporary Polish state. According to the Constitution, the President of Poland nominates and appoints the prime minister, fourteen days following his or her appointment, the prime minister must submit a programme outlining the governments agenda to the Sejm, requiring a vote of confidence. The office of the minister is generally considered the most powerful post in Polish politics. However, conflicts stemming from both interest and conflicting powers have arisen between the two offices in the past, the current and sixteenth Prime Minister is Beata Szydło of the Law and Justice party. Near the end of the First World War, an assortment of groups contested to proclaim an independent Polish state, in early November 1918, a socialist provisional government under Ignacy Daszyński declared independence, while a separate committee in Kraków claimed to rule West Galicia. Piłsudski summoned Daszyński to the capital to form a government, where Piłsudski agreed to appoint Daszyński as the republics first prime minister, daszyńskis premiership, however, remained brief, after the politician failed to form a workable coalition. Piłsudski turned instead to Jędrzej Moraczewski, who crafted a workable government for the Second Republics first months of existence. The Small Constitution of 1919 outlined Polands form of government, with a democratically elected Sejm, a minister and cabinet. Despite outlining a parliamentary system, the Small Constitution vested many executive powers onto Piłsudskis position as Chief of State, the executive branch could select and organize cabinets, be responsible to the ministries for their duties, and require the countersignature of ministers for all official acts. The result was the Sejms passage of the March Constitution of 1921, modeled after the Third French Republic, the March Constitution entrusted decision-making exclusively within the lower-house Sejm. The newly created presidency, on the hand, became a symbolic office devoid of any major authority, stripped of veto. Deriving authority from the powerful Sejm, the minister and the council of ministers, in theory, faced few constitutional barriers from the presidency to pass. In reality, however, the premiership remained extraordinarily insecure due to the political climate of the early Second Republic. Fourteen governments and eleven prime ministers rose and fell between 1918 and 1926, with nine governments alone serving between the five-year March Constitution era, distrustful of parliamentary democracy, Marshal Piłsudski and his Sanation movement assumed a semi-authoritarian power behind the throne presence over the premiership and presidency. By the mid-1930s, Piłsudski and fellow Sanationists further stripped parliament, under the communist Polish Peoples Republic, the ruling Polish United Workers Party dominated all sections of the government, as recognized under the 1952 Constitution. The office acted as an agent for policies carried out by the PZPRs Politburo. In face of growing protests from the Solidarity movement for much of the 1980s, as the communist state was quickly dismantled, this impasse remained due to the series of unstable governments falling in quick succession in the first years of the Third Republic
Prime Minister of Poland
–
Incumbent
Ewa Kopacz since 22 September 2014
Prime Minister of Poland
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Logo of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Poland
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The cabinet of Prime Minister
Leopold Skulski in session in 1920. Due to the deep political divides of the early Second Republic, governments were short-lived, frequently falling within months.
Prime Minister of Poland
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Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former prime minister of Poland browsing an exhibition at the
Europeana 1989 roadshow in Warsaw
8.
List of Prime Ministers of Poland
–
On 11 November, he was invited to form a national government but failed and resigned three days later. The government was recognized by the United Kingdom and the United States until 5 July 1945, by the end of 1946, the government-in-exile had lost recognition by all but a handful of independent nations. Despite this, it continued in London until the election of Lech Wałęsa as President of the Republic of Poland in December 1990. They established the Council of National Unity, vested the powers of the President in the Rada Trzech, and appointed their own government, after the death of Zaleski in 1972, the Council of National Unity dissolved and ceded its powers to Zaleskis successor Stanisław Ostrowski. Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland President of the Republic of Poland List of heads of state of Poland List of Polish monarchs The Chancellery of the Prime Minister
List of Prime Ministers of Poland
–
Duke
Frederick Augustus I (1807–1813)
List of Prime Ministers of Poland
–
Poland
List of Prime Ministers of Poland
List of Prime Ministers of Poland
9.
Cabinet of Poland
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The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland is the collective executive decision-making body of the Polish government. The cabinet consists of the Prime Minister, also known as the President of the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister, who acts as a vice-president of the council, the current competences and procedures of the cabinet are described between Articles 146 to 162 of the constitution. The process of forming the council of ministers begins with the nomination of the minister by the President of Poland. The prime minister will then propose the composition of the cabinet, furthermore, the president is forbidden to select a different cabinet composition than the one already selected by the prime minister. Following their nomination, all members of the take the oath of office within the Column Room of the Presidential Palace. Within fourteen days of its appointment, the cabinet, headed by the minister, is obligated to submit an agenda to the Sejm together with a vote of confidence. An absolute majority of votes in the presence of at least half of all Sejm deputies is required to approve of the cabinet, which the president will then accept and administer their oaths of office. Should a vote of confidence fail again, the process of nomination is handed back to the presidency, who must again appoint a prime minister, who will then nominate other members of the cabinet. If the vote of confidence fails a third time, the president is obliged to shorten the Sejms term of office, the council of ministers is headed by the prime minister, known also as the President of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister directs the activities and acts as its representative. Furthermore, the prime minister ensures the implementation of the policies, coordinates and controls the work of his or her ministers. The prime minister may also be assisted by a deputy prime minister, both the prime minister and deputy prime minister can discharge the functions of a minister. The deputy prime ministers position is normally offered to representatives of the junior coalition partner. Deputy prime ministers also take on other ministerial positions, the rest of the cabinet is composed of ministers, whose tasks and governmental administrative portfolios are selected and organized by the prime minister. Cabinet ministers may originate from the Sejm and Senat, Ministers may also be selected from outside of the legislature. First are the department ministers, who exercise authority and responsibility within the governments administration, including ministries, subordinate departments. Regulations by any member of the council of ministers can be overruled by the cabinet upon a motion by the prime minister, the premier is also empowered to reshuffle or remove members from the cabinet. The style of the government and the roles of its ministers are not constitutionally mandated, the constitution entrusts the cabinet to craft and implement the most important regulations and policies of the state
Cabinet of Poland
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The
first cabinet of Prime Minister
Donald Tusk in 2007.
Cabinet of Poland
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The assembled cabinet of Prime Minister
Marek Belka (middle row, second from left) with President
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (middle row, third from left) in 2005.
Cabinet of Poland
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The Polish cabinet sits in the elevated government seating box (center) during sessions of the
Sejm.
10.
Ministries of Poland
–
The ministries of Poland are the various departments performing functions implemented by the Polish government. Each ministry is headed by a governmental minister selected by the Prime Minister, under legal regulations, the cabinet can create, combine, or dissolve ministries, with the Prime Minister determining the scope and responsibilities of ministers. The number and range of ministries has varied throughout the past, as of 2015, seventeen codified ministries exist within the government. The following departments discharge executive functions under the Cabinet of Ewa Kopacz
Ministries of Poland
–
An honour guard representing the
Polish Armed Forces in front of the
Ministry of National Defence.
11.
Parliament of Poland
–
The parliament of Poland has an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the Sejm. Both houses are accommodated by the Sejm complex in Warsaw, the parliament itself is without an official name, the Constitution of Poland refers only to the Sejm and the Senate. Members of both houses are elected by election, usually every four years. The Sejm has 460 members, while the Senate has 100 senators, to become law, a bill must first be approved by both houses, but the Sejm can override a Senate refusal to pass a bill. On certain occasions, the Marshal of the Sejm summons the National Assembly and its function is mostly ceremonial in nature, and it convenes only occasionally, such as to witness the inauguration of the President. Debating halls have designated seats for the deputies, senators and the Marshal, seats are also equipped in voting devices, used by deputies and senators to vote
Parliament of Poland
Parliament of Poland
12.
Senate of the Republic of Poland
–
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years and it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the dismemberment of the Polish state in 1795. After a brief period of existence in the period the Senate was again abolished by the authorities of the Peoples Republic of Poland. It was not re-established until the collapse of communism and rebirth of democracy in Poland in 1989, the Senate is based in Warsaw and is located in a building which forms part of the Sejm Complex on Ul. Wiejska, close to Three Crosses Square and Ujazdow Castle and it consists of 100 senators elected by universal ballot and is headed by the Marshal of the Senate. The incumbent Marshal of the Senate is Senior Marshal Stanisław Karczewski, in line with Article 10, Paragraph 2, and Article 95 of the Polish Constitution of April 2,1997, the Senate and the Sejm exercises legislative power. The Senate is composed of 100 senators who are elected for a term of four years in general election in a vote by secret ballot. Alongside the Sejm, the President of the Polish Republic, the Council of Ministers and all citizens of Poland, the Senate is allowed 30 days to examine any piece of draft legislation passed by the Sejm,14 days if a bill is considered to be urgent. Any bill submitted by the Sejm to the Senate may be adopted by the latter without any amendments or amended or rejected. Any resolution of the Senate, as a result of which a bill is repealed or amended, is considered to be passed provided it has not been rejected by the Sejm, however, for the state budget, the Senate has 20 days to examine it. For amending the constitution, the Senate has 60 days for analysis, if the constitution is amended, identical wording of the amendment must be approved by both the Sejm and the Senate. The president cannot decide to stage a nationwide referendum on matters of importance unless he or she has been given explicit permission to do so by the Senate. The Senate is also empowered to examine any reports submitted by the Commissioner for the Protection of Citizens Rights, however, unlike the Sejm, the Senate has no role in providing for oversight of the executive. The Senate can be traced back approximately five hundred years to a council of royal advisors, in 1501 at Mielnik, senators attempted to force the soon to be crowned king Alexander I Jagiellon to devolve all royal powers relating to the governing of the state to them. However, whilst Alexander first agreed, after his coronation he refused to affirm this privilege, later the Nihil Novi act of 1505 affirmed the right of both the Chamber of Envoys and Senate to propagate common law for the kingdom. At this time the competences of the Senate were also laid down as pertaining to participation in legislation, foreign policy, in 1537 the Senate followed a course of action which would have seen it become the most important institution in protecting landowners’ rights and freedoms. However, this view was at odds with those of Sigismund I the Old who believed that the Senate was becoming far too powerful. Resultantly, over the period of 1562–69, the Senate lost many of its powers and influence, eventually becoming subordinate to its formerly-equal companion body, the Chamber of Envoys
Senate of the Republic of Poland
–
Senate of the Republic of Poland Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Senate of the Republic of Poland
Senate of the Republic of Poland
–
A leaf from the Łaski Statute depicting the Polish Senate in 1503
Senate of the Republic of Poland
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Unrealised (1765) plans for a new senate chamber at the Royal Castle in Warsaw
13.
Sejm
–
The Sejm of the Republic of Poland is the lower house of the Polish parliament. It consists of 460 deputies elected by ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. In the Kingdom of Poland, Sejm referred to the entire three-chamber parliament of Poland, comprising the house, the upper house. It was thus a three-estate parliament, since the Second Polish Republic, Sejm has referred only to the lower house of the parliament, the upper house is called the Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Sejm stems from an Old Slavic word meaning gathering and its origin was the Kings Councils, which gained power during the time of Polands fragmentation. The Sejm in Łęczyca was the most notable of these councils and it forbade arbitrary sequestration of supplies in the countryside and takeover of bishopric lands after the death of a bishop. These early Sejms were not an event, they convened at the Kings behest. After the 1493 Sejm in Piotrków, it became a regularly convening body, the bicameral system was also established there. The Sejm now comprised two chambers, the Senat of 81 bishops and other dignitaries, and the Chamber of Envoys, over time, the envoys in the lower chamber grew in number and power as they pressed the king for more privileges. The Sejm eventually became more active in supporting the goals of the privileged classes when the King ordered that the landed nobility. Its chambers reserved the final decisions in legislation, taxation, budget, and treasury matters, foreign policy, until the end of the 16th century, unanimity was not required, and the majority-voting process was the most commonly used system for voting. Later, with the rise of the Polish magnates and their increasing power, additionally, if the envoys were unable to reach a unanimous decision within six weeks, deliberations were declared void and all previous acts passed by that Sejm were annulled. From the mid-17th century onward, any objection to a Sejm resolution, by either an envoy or a senator, automatically caused the rejection of other, previously approved resolutions. This was because all resolutions passed by a session of the Sejm formed a whole resolution. It is estimated that between 1493 and 1793, a Sejm was held 240 times, the total sum of which was 44 years. The Chamber of Envoys, despite its name, consisted not only of 77 envoys from the hereditary nobility, all deputies were covered by Parliamentary immunity, with each individual serving for a term of office of six years, with half of the deputies being elected every two years. Candidates for deputy had to be able to read and write, the legal voting age was 21, except for those citizens serving in the military, the personnel of which were not allowed to vote. Parliamentary sessions were initially convened every two years, and lasted for 30 days, however, after many clashes between liberal deputies and conservative government officials, sessions were later called only four times
Sejm
Sejm
–
Sejm of the Republic of Poland Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Sejm
–
A
wiec (King's Council) in the time of King
Casimir III of Poland, 14th century
Sejm
–
Sejm under the reign of
Sigismund III Vasa (1622)
14.
Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)
–
It also rules on constitutional complaints. The Constitutional Tribunal is made up of 15 judges chosen by Sejm RP for nine-year terms, the Constitutional Tribunal constitutes one of the formal guarantees of a state grounded on the rule of law. Three judges, appointed by the President of the Tribunal, serve as members of the National Electoral Commission, the president denied the serment to the five appointed before the election and swore the five new judges in. Of the appointments made before the election, the Constitutional Tribunal itself invalidated two and accepted three, as a consequence, of the appointments made after the election, the Tribunal accepted two and invalidated three. See Polish Constitutional Court crisis,2015, judiciary Rule of law Rule According to Higher Law Supreme Court of Poland Polish Constitutional Court crisis,2015 Official website
Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)
–
The seat of the Tribunal in Warsaw
Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)
–
Trybunał Konstytucyjny Constitutional Tribunal
15.
Supreme Court of Poland
–
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland supervises the adjudication in, General courts - these are district, regional, and appeal courts. They adjudicate in the areas of civil, criminal, family, military courts - that is circuit and garrison courts. They deal with matters relating to crimes committed by soldiers in service, civilian employees in military units. The Supreme Court is the court of last resort of appeal against judgements in the lower courts and it also passes resolutions to clarify specific legal provisions and resolve disputable questions in specific cases. These however are not legally binding, the President of the Republic of Poland appoints Supreme Court judges for an indefinite period. This is done upon a motion of the National Judicial Council, the President also selects the First President of the court from candidates presented by the General Assembly of the Supreme Court. The First President holds office for a term, though he or she may be dismissed by Sejm upon a motion by the President of the Republic of Poland. As of 2017, the First President of the Supreme Court is Małgorzata Gersdorf, constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland
Supreme Court of Poland
–
Columns of the Supreme Court building, Warsaw
Supreme Court of Poland
–
Poland
16.
Supreme Administrative Court of Poland
–
The Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Poland is the court of last resort in administrative cases e. g. those betweens private citizens and administrative bodies. This court deals with appeals from lower administrative courts called Voivodship Administrative Courts, the Supreme Administrative Court is located in Warsaw. It consists of The President of Supreme Administrative Court, Vice Presidents, the Supreme Administrative Court is divided into three chambers, Commercial Chamber, Financial Chamber and General Administrative Chamber. The Commercial Chamber supervises the jurisdiction of regional courts as far as customs. The Financial Chamber supervises the jurisdiction of regional administrative courts when it comes to fiscal obligations, the General Administrative Chamber supervises the rest of the jurisdiction of regional administrative courts. Within its organization there are three organs, The President of The Supreme Administrative Court, The General Assembly of Judges, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court manages the functioning of The Supreme Administrative Court and represents it on the outside. He has the right to look into all cases pleaded in The Supreme Administrative Court and he may require not only explanations but also removing faults in a procedure and may also be present during a closed session. The President of Supreme Administrative Court is nominated for 6 years by the Polish President as one of two designated by The General Assembly of Judges. These two candidates are chosen from all the judges of Supreme Administrative Court, the Vice-presidents of Supreme Administrative Court take up their activities commissioned by The President. Being designated by The President, they direct the work within each Chamber and they are nominated and dismissed by the President of Poland. The General Assembly of Judges consists of judges nominated to the Supreme Administrative Court, at the top of hierarchy there is The President of the Supreme Administrative Court. An absolute majority in the presence of at least half of the members is needed in order to pass the resolution, the Council of Judges sets a division of activities within the Supreme Administrative Court and distributes coming cases to the judges. It gives an opinion concerning candidates for judges to The General Assembly, the term of this organ lasts three years. The chairman of The Council is The President of the Supreme Administrative Court, again, an absolute majority in the presence of at least half of the members is needed here to pass a resolution
Supreme Administrative Court of Poland
–
Poland
17.
Supreme Audit Office (Poland)
–
It was created on the initiative of the Head of State, Józef Piłsudski. Its organisation and functioning are set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the NIK is subordinate to the Sejm and it acts in accordance with the principle of collegiate responsibility. The NIK is headed by the President who is appointed by the Sejm for a term of office. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and the relating to the NIK. The Speaker of the Parliament appoints members of the College for a three-year tenure, the College assesses audit programmes and the outcomes of particularly important audits. It also considers post audit objections, under the current regulations, NIK is answerable to the Sejm, which appoints its President for a 6-year term, with the approval of the Senate. Terms of office of the President of the NIK do not necessarily coincide with those of the Parliament, like members of the Sejm, the President of NIK also enjoys immunity, he cannot be arrested or indicted without the consent of the Sejm. Currently, the post of the President of the NIK is held by Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, the Supreme Audit Office operates through its Departments and Regional Branches. The number of NIK Regional Branches,16, equals that of the voivodeships, NIK institutes audit proceedings on its own initiative, at the request of Sejm or its bodies or representatives, the President of the Republic, or the Prime Minister. Special types of NIK activities include audits of the state budget execution and of the principles of monetary policy, the NIK fulfils its tasks based on periodic work plans. In the first instance, the audit of the state budget execution is completed, NIK undertakes other audits according to prioritised directions established by the NIK College for a period of three years. Each year new audit areas are selected according to specific themes for planned audits are programmed. NIK can also undertake ad hoc audits, jacek Jezierski, President of the NIK was the Chair of EUROSAI Governing Board in 2008-2011
Supreme Audit Office (Poland)
–
The headquarters of the Supreme Audit Office.
Supreme Audit Office (Poland)
–
Supreme Audit Office
18.
Polish Ombudsman
–
The Polish Ombudsman is an independent central office of the Republic of Poland. The office was first established on January 1,1988 and its functioning is regulated by the Constitution and an act of Polish parliament from July 15,1987. The office is accredited as Polands national human rights institution, in such cases, they can act on behalf of the people in courts. The people have right to ask the ombudsman for intervention, the ombudsman is elected by an act of Sejm and has to be accepted by the Senate. The term of office is five years long and the person cannot hold the office more than twice. Sejm has the right to recall the ombudsman with 3/5 majority before the end of term
Polish Ombudsman
–
Polish Ombudsman's Office at 77 „Solidarnośc” Avenue in
Warsaw
Polish Ombudsman
–
Poland
19.
Elections in Poland
–
Elections in Poland refer to the election process, as well as the election results in Poland. Poland has a multi-party political system, on the national level, Poland elects the head of state – the president – and a legislature. There are also local elections, referendums and elections to the European Parliament. Poland has a history of public elections dating back several centuries. Notably, since the Sejm of 1493, Polish kings were obliged to call regular Sejms, from 1573 until 1795 the state system of elective monarchy in Poland required the royal elections of monarchs as well during the Sejm proceedings. The first modern and free elections in 20th-century-Poland were held in 1919, there were regular elections in Poland from that time on, however, no elections until the groundbreaking elections of 1989, marking the fall of communism, were free. All subsequent elections, beginning with the 1991 election are considered fair, the first Polish Sejm was called in 1182. Since the Sejm of 1493, called by king John I Olbracht in 1493, there were also special Sejms when needed, for example the coronation sejms. Last elected king was Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1764 and 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, Polish presidents were elected by the Sejm and Senate, 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. There were no elections during the rest of this period, with President Bolesław Bieruts nomination by the Sejm. Since 1991, Polish elections operate according to a parliamentary system. Poland has a multi-party political system, with parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone. Poland elects on national level a head of state – the president –, the president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly has two chambers, the parliament 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. The Senate has 100 members elected for a four-year term via the first past-the-post system, 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, whose division is called the National Electoral Office
Elections in Poland
–
Lech Kaczyński and
Maria Kaczyńska in 2006
Elections in Poland
–
Poland
20.
Polish presidential election, 1990
–
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 25 November 1990, with a second round on 9 December. They were the first direct elections in the history of Poland. Before World War II, presidents were elected by the Sejm, the leader of the Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, won the first round. However, he did not earn over 50% of the vote, Wałęsa faced Polish-Canadian businessman Stanisław Tymiński in the second round, defeating him easily. Wałęsa was an electrician and union leader with the image of an emotional, the first non-communist prime minister, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, was very popular and widely considered a front-runner. He appeared as a respectable and intellectual leader than Wałęsa. But also as more of a compromiser, however, in the first round, Mazowiecki finished in a distant third, with only 18.7 percent of the vote, well behind Tymiński. The reasons for Tymińskis unexpected success remain unclear, another factor was that Tymińskis use of political-marketing methods unknown in Poland at the time. A key element of his campaign was an omnipresent black briefcase, Although the elections passed without the briefcase being opened, its presence attracted constant attention. Tymińskis adversaries adopted a strategy, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that Tymiński had had contact with the secret police. Despite Tymińskis defeat, he had not only humiliated Mazowiecki, after the election Tymiński tried to establish a new political party, but quickly disappeared from the political scene in Poland. A Although an independent, Cimoszewicz was supported by Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland, Obwieszczenie PKW z dn.26 XI1990 r. Nr 83, poz.483 Obwieszczenie PKW z dn.10 XII1990 r
Polish presidential election, 1990
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Turnout
Polish presidential election, 1990
Polish presidential election, 1990
–
Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki (Independent)
21.
Polish presidential election, 1995
–
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 5 November 1995, with a second round on 19 November. Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Lech Wałęsa passed to the second round, Kwaśniewski won the election, collecting 51.7 percent of votes in the run-off, against 48.3 percent for Lech Wałęsa, the former Solidarity leader. Kwaśniewskis campaign slogans were Lets choose the future and A Poland for all, political opponents disputed his victory, and produced evidence to show that he had lied about his education in registration documents and public presentations. There was also some mystery over his graduation from university, a law court confirmed that Kwaśniewski had lied about his record, but did not penalise him for it, judging the information irrelevant to the election result. Activist Leszek Bubel Activist Tadeusz Koźluk Comedian Jan Pietrzak Activist Kazimierz Piotrowicz Kwaśniewski won with 51.7 percent of votes in the run-off,64. 7% of citizens cast their votes during the first round,98. 2% of those were valid. 68. 2% of citizens cast their vote during the round,98. 0% of those were valid. Obwieszczenie PKW z dn.7 XI1995 r,604, Obwieszczenie PKW z dn.7 XI1995 r
Polish presidential election, 1995
–
Turnout
Polish presidential election, 1995
Polish presidential election, 1995
–
Former Chair of Social Democracy
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Polish presidential election, 1995
–
Activist
Andrzej Lepper
22.
Polish presidential election, 2000
–
The 2000 Polish presidential election took place in Poland on 8 October 2000. Incumbent President Aleksander Kwaśniewski was easily re-elected in the first round after winning more than 50% of the votes, President Kwaśniewski was seen as very likely to win re-election in the run up to the presidential election with polls showing that his popularity was high as 70% support. His main challenger was expected to be Marian Krzaklewski from the Solidarity Electoral Action, candidates seen as having less of a chance included Andrzej Lepper, a populist farmers leader who opposed entry into the European Union and former president Lech Wałęsa. Wałęsa was rejected as the candidate for the Solidarity party he had won the presidency for, in order to be elected in the first round a candidate had to gain over 50% of the vote. If no candidate reached this level, then a round would have been held between the top two candidates. As the campaign continued, the biggest question in the election was whether or not incumbent President Kwaśniewski would win the 50% required to avoid a second round, if they had been found guilty they could have been banned from seeking election to political office for 10 years. However they both claimed that the evidence had been manipulated by political opponents and were cleared by the court, Solidarity candidate Krzaklewski attacked Kwaśniewski for his past as a Communist party activist. However opinion polls in August showed this had little effect with Kwaśniewski well ahead with over 60% support, while Krzaklewski was second and Olechowski third, President Kwaśniewskis campaign focused on reconciling all of Poland with slogans including Poland, our common home. Most voters felt he had done well as President and he was seen as having done a job in guiding Poland to membership of NATO. Krzaklewskis popularity was not high due to the infighting in the government led by his Solidarity party since they had won the 1997 parliamentary election, in the election 3 candidates ran on platforms against the European Union. During the campaign one of them, Andrzej Lepper, was arrested for blocking a customs post. As the election neared Kwaśniewski dropped in the polls and it became uncertain whether he would win the 50% required to avoid a second round and this followed a television advertisement from Solidarity candidate Krzaklewski in which Kwaśniewski was accused of having mocked Pope John Paul II. The video showed Kwaśniewski apparently urging his security advisor to kiss the ground is a parody of the Pope, incumbent President Kwaśniewski won the election in the first round receiving almost 54% of the vote. Independent Andrzej Olechowski came second beating Solidarity candidate Krzaklewski into third place, meanwhile, former President Lech Wałęsa only won 1% of the vote and following the election stood down as leader of his small Christian Democratic party
Polish presidential election, 2000
–
Turnout
Polish presidential election, 2000
Polish presidential election, 2000
Polish presidential election, 2000
–
Incumbent
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
23.
Polish presidential election, 2005
–
The 2005 Presidential elections were held in Poland on October 9 and October 23,2005. The outgoing President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, had served two terms and was unable to stand for a third term. Lech Kaczyński defeated Donald Tusk to become President of Poland, as neither received 50 percent of the vote, a second round was held on 23 October. In this round, Kaczyński defeated Tusk, polling 54.04 percent of the vote, Tusk is considered somewhat more socially and economically liberal, favoring more rapid European integration and a free-market economy. Kaczyński is more conservative, in the tradition of post-Communist Polands first President, Lech Wałęsa. Such differences led to the failure of PiS-PO coalition talks in late October, włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, the candidate of the Alliance of the Democratic Left, which was the governing party before the legislative election withdrew from the race on September 14. At the time he withdrew he was third in the polls, other candidates, who withdrew from the elections, but initially have signed to, were Zbigniew Religa and Maciej Giertych. Daniel Tomasz Podrzycki, who have signed, died in an accident before the elections. Activist Leszek Bubel Activist Liwiusz Ilasz Activist Jan Pyszko Zbigniew Religa - senator, prominent cardiac surgeon, włodzimierz Cimoszewicz - former Prime Minister, candidate of Democratic Left Alliance. Maciej Giertych - member of European Parliament, candidate of League of Polish Families, daniel Podrzycki - socialist, candidate of Polish Labour Party and Communist Party of Poland. Voters turnout in the first round was low with only 49.6 percent of all eligible voters casting their votes. Angus Reid Consultants - Election Tracker Presidential Calculator, Rzeczpospolita Official results Reference files on the Polands presidential candidates
Polish presidential election, 2005
–
Turnout
Polish presidential election, 2005
Polish presidential election, 2005
–
Activist
Henryka Bochniarz
Polish presidential election, 2005
–
Member of
Sejm Andrzej Lepper
24.
Polish presidential election, 2010
–
The popular election of the President of Poland was held on 20 June 2010. As no candidate received a majority of votes in the first round, Bronisław Komorowski, candidate of Civic Platform, defeated Jarosław Kaczyński, candidate of Law and Justice. The global financial crisis, flooding in Poland and the Smolensk disaster were the themes in the last months of the election campaign. e. On 21 April, the Marshal, Bronisław Komorowski, announced the date as 20 June 2010. Candidates were required to register by 26 April 2010 and submit 100,000 signatures by 6 May 2010, two candidates for the election died in the crash. Incumbent Lech Kaczyński was nominated as the Law and Justice party candidate, senate by-elections to fill the three seats whose senators died in the crash – Krystyna Bochenek, Janina Fetlińska and Stanisław Zając – were held on the same day. In total,23 candidates registered with the Polish National Electoral Commission on, or just following,17 of the 23 candidacies were accepted by the commission, whilst the remaining 6 were rejected because they had not gathered the required 1000 signatures. Only ten candidates collected the required 100,000 signatures and were eligible to run for president, tomasz Nałęcz - former Vice-Marshal of Sejm, candidate of Social Democracy of Poland. Zdzisław Podkański - former member of the European Parliament, leader of the national-conservative party Piast, Lech Kaczyński - President who applied to start for reelection. First candidate of Law and Justice, Jerzy Szmajdziński - former Minister of Defence, Vice-Marshall of Sejm. First candidate of Democratic Left Alliance, there were 10 candidates in the first round of voting. Bronisław Komorowski of Civic Platform received 41. 5% and Jarosław Kaczyński of Law and Justice received 36. 5%, the other eight candidates were eliminated. Soon after exit polls were released in the round, Jarosław Kaczyński conceded that he had been defeated. Bronisław Komorowski appeared to claim victory, stating, Tonight we will open a small bottle of champagne. The exit polls put Komorowski ahead of Kaczyński by 53% to 47%, on the following day, Komorowski was declared the winner of the election. The final result put Komorowski with 53. 01% of the vote, Komorowskis win resulted in Civic Platform holding both the Presidency and the government. Correspondents in US and British business newspapers suggested that Komorowskis win would mean closer engagement with the European Union, the official election site of the Polish Election Committee
Polish presidential election, 2010
–
Turnout
Polish presidential election, 2010
Polish presidential election, 2010
–
Former
Marshal of the Sejm Marek Jurek (
Right of the Republic), 49
25.
Polish presidential election, 2015
–
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 10 and 24 May 2015. In the first round of voting, opposition Law and Justice candidate Andrzej Duda received the greatest number of votes with a share of 34, independent candidate Paweł Kukiz came third with 20. 80% of the votes. As no candidate had received more than 50% of the votes cast and this round was won by Duda with 51. 5% of the votes, to Komorowskis 48. 5%. This was the closest presidential election in Polish history, the victory of Dudas Law and Justice party was one of the latest in a series of electoral victories for eurosceptic centre-right and right-wing parties in Europe. The president was elected directly by the people to serve for five years, according to the article 28, the day of the election had to fall on a Sunday between 100 and 75 days before the end of the term of the incumbent. This was the first presidential election carried out following changes in 2011, in total 23 candidates registered with the State Electoral Commission. Only 11 submitted the required 100,000 signatures supporting their candidacy before the 26 March deadline, stanisław Majdański, former senator, candidate of agrarian conservative Ojcowizna party. Balli Marzec, ethnic Kazakh activist and publicist, candidate of NGO Kazakh Community, kornel Morawiecki, democratic activist in time of PRL, founder and leader of Fighting Solidarity, candidate in 2010 election. Zenon Nowak, candidate of party Brave Dad protecting rights of fathers, wanda Nowicka, current Deputy Marshall of the Sejm, the candidate of the social-democratic party Labour United. Ten candidates attended the debate, while President Komorowski declined to appear, in both of these, the candidates also had the opportunity to pose questions to the other. Komorowski was generally regarded by the Polish press and political analysts to have won the first of the second-round debates, the second debate was considered to be less decisive. Polls were closer in the round, with most predicting a narrow Duda victory. At least one poll showed Komorowski pulling ahead, but just slightly. Notes ^a PSLs candidates name had not been announced at the time, ^b Including Ryszard Kalisz at 4% ^c Including Wojciech Olejniczak at 6. 4%, Jarosław Kalinowski at 1. 7%, Zbigniew Stonoga at 1%, and Mirosław Piotrowski at 0. The result was described as a surprise, as the Komorowski camp, Paweł Kukiz, who finished third in the first round of voting, declined to endorse either Duda or Komorowski, instead offering to moderate a debate between the two candidates. Komorowski declined to participate, and the debate was never held, in the second round of the election on 24 May, Duda unseated Komorowski in the closest presidential election since Poland became a democracy. He defeated the incumbent by a margin of three percentage points, according to official results. Komorowski said after the release of the poll that it was important to respect the result of the vote
Polish presidential election, 2015
–
Turnout
Polish presidential election, 2015
Polish presidential election, 2015
–
Movie director
Grzegorz Braun (independent), age 48
Polish presidential election, 2015
–
Marszałek of
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Adam Jarubas (
Polish People's Party), age 40
26.
Polish parliamentary election, 1989
–
The Polish legislative election of 1989 was the tenth election to the Sejm, the parliament of the Polish Peoples Republic, and the first election to the recreated Senate of Poland. The first round took place on 4 June, right after the 1989 June 4th Beijing Tiananmen Square massacre in China, with a second round on 18 June. It was the closest thing to an election in the country since 1928. Not all parliamentary seats were contested, but the victory of the Solidarity opposition in the freely contested races paved the way to the fall of Communism in Poland. Solidarity swept all of the contested seats in the Sejm. In the elections aftermath, Poland became the first country of the Eastern Bloc in which democratically elected representatives gained real power, in May and August 1988 massive waves of workers strikes broke out in the Polish Peoples Republic. The strikes, as well as demonstrations, continued throughout spring and summer. These strikes were organized by local activists, who had no idea that their leaders from Warsaw had already started secret negotiations with the communists. An agreement was reached by the communist Polish United Workers Party, the final agreement was signed on 4 April 1989, ending communist rule in Poland. As a result, real power was to be vested in a newly created bicameral legislature. Soon after the agreement was signed, Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa travelled to Rome, perhaps the most important decision reached during the Round Table talks was to allow for partially free elections to be held in Poland. All seats to the newly recreated Senate of Poland were to be elected democratically, the remaining 65% of the seats were reserved for the PZPR and its satellite parties. In addition, all 35 seats elected via the country-wide list were reserved for the PZPRs candidates provided they gained a certain quota of support and this was to ensure that the most notable leaders of the Party were elected. The outcome of the election was largely unpredictable, pre-electoral opinion polls were inconclusive, after all, Poland had not had a truly fair election since the 1920s, so there was little precedent to go by. The last contested elections were those of 1947, in the midst of communist-orchestrated violent oppression and this time, there would be open and relatively fair competition for many seats, both between communist and Solidarity candidates, and in some cases, between various communist candidates. While censorship was still in force, the opposition was allowed to campaign much more freely than before, with a new newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, Solidarity was also given access to televised media, being allocated 23% of electoral time on Polish Television. There were also no restrictions on financial support and it was clear that the Communists were unpopular, but there were no hard numbers as to how low support for them would actually fall. A rather flawed survey carried in April, days after the Round Table Agreement was signed, suggested that over 60% of the surveyed wanted Solidarity to cooperate with the government
Polish parliamentary election, 1989
–
All 460 seats in the
Sejm
Polish parliamentary election, 1989
Polish parliamentary election, 1989
Polish parliamentary election, 1989
–
"High Noon, June 4, 1989." Solidarity Citizens' Committee election poster by Tomasz Sarnecki.
7.69
15.09
. Retrieved 21 August 2017. 
