Ordynacje wyborcze do Sejmu X kadencji i Senatu PRL
Date
1989
Authors
Advisor
Editor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM
Title alternative
Electoral regulations on elections of the diet of the Xth term and the senate
Abstract
On April 7, 1988 implementing the Round Table Agreements, the Diet of the
Polish People's Republic adopted electoral regulations on elections of the Diet of
the Xt h term (1989-1993) and of the Senate. In Poland, elections of the Senate —
the second chamber of the parliament — took place for the first time within the last
fifty years. Regulations on elections of the Senate often refer to the appropriate
provisions of the regulations on elections of the Diet. However, both acts contain
many new solutions, of great importance for the democratization of the electoral
system, and thus of direct influence on the shape and composition of the first
two-chamber parliament in the People's Republic. It was for the first time in
Poland since 1952 that electoral regulations made it possible for the opposition
to run for the parliament. There is however, a basic difference between the
methods of composing the two chambers of the parliament. While the political
composition of the Diet, expressed in percentage, was agreed upon before the elections,
the elections of the Senate were to be subject to free political play.
In every system of elections the composition of the parliament is to a considerable
extext conditioned upon the method of putting up candidates. In this
respect, it was for the first time in the People's Republic that beside the candidates
proposed by legal political parties and social organizations,, there appeared the
candidates proposed by a so-called free electorate, i.e. by non-organized citizens
domiciled in an electoral district. However, parties and social organizations were
in a better situation. In particular, while parties and some catholic associations
were free from the duty of confirming the candidatures with signatures of voters,
and social and professional all-Polish organizations were allowed to collect their
minimum of 3000 signatures to back up their candidate on the whole territory of Poland, free electorate had to collect the minimum of 3000 signatures within their
electoral district.
It was also for the first time in the Polish People's Republic that citizens
elected their representatives from among the unlimited number of candidates.
Both electoral regulations were passed within a very short period. Besides,
the Round Table Agreements had to be taken into consideration. All this accounts
for the fact that the regulations are far from being perfect from the legal point
of view. Moreover, in some places they are in obvious contradiction with the
Constitution of 1952, adopted in the time of entirely different political, social and
economic conditions.
Description
Sponsor
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Keywords
Citation
Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 51, 1989, z. 4, s. 23-37.