Polish local elections, 1998

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 various local elections, referendums and elections to the European Parliament.

Poland has a long history of public elections dating back several centuries, beginning with the elections to Sejm in Łęczyca (known as the First Sejm) in 1182. Notably, since the Sejm of 1493, Polish kings were obliged to call regular Sejms and regional elections (sejmiks) every two years. 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, two months after Poland regained independence in 1918 from the century of foreign partitions. After the Second World War, Poland fell into the Soviet sphere of influence and became controlled by the communists, who rigged the elections of 1947 to ensure they controlled the entire Polish government. 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. The Polish communists secured a majority of the lower house seats in 1989, but also, for the first time in the Eastern Bloc history, allowed opposition parties to gain representation; therefore the election was semi-free. All subsequent elections, beginning with the 1991 election are considered fair and free.

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