IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Poland

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Presidential
2015

Poland
Republic of Poland
Region: Europe

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Bronislaw KOMOROWSKI
Head of Government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK
Assembly: Poland has a bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) consisting of the Senate (Senat) with 100 seats and the Sejm with 460 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the Sejm.
In the Senate (Senat) 100 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms*. In the Sejm 460 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* There are 40 multi-member constituencies consisting of anywhere between 2 and 4 seats.

** There are 41 multi-member constituencies consisting of anywhere between 7 and 19 seats. Electors are required to cast a preferential vote for the candidate of their choice. All preferential votes are tabulated as votes for the candidate's party. There is a 5% threshold for parties and 8% threshold for coalitions. The threshold applies to the share of the total national vote, not the constituency. Candidates that belong to ethnic minorities are exempt from threshold requirements.