IFES

Oct. 15, 2023 Confirmed

Poland

Republic of Poland

Election for Senat (Polish Senate)

More Info:

At Stake in this Election: 

  • All 100 seats of the Polish Senate 

The Sejm election and a referendum will occur concurrently. 

Government Structure:  

  • Chief of State: President Adrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015) 

  • Head of Government: Prime Minister Mateusz MORAWIECKI (since 11 December 2017) 

  • Assembly: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) including a 100-seat Senate (Senat) and a 460-seat Sejm 

Electoral System:  

  • The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

  • The Prime Minister is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Sejm. 

  • In the Senate, all 100 members are directly elected by plurality vote within single-seat constituencies. Members serve 4-year terms. 

  • In the Sejm, all 460 members are elected by party-list proportional representation vote and serve 4-year terms. Parties must win at least 5% of the national vote to earn a seat, and coalitions must win at least 8%. 

Last Election: 

In 2019, Law and Justice won the largest share of seats (48) in the Senate, followed by the Civic Coalition (43), the Polish Coalition (3), the Left (2), and four independents. Voter turnout was 60%. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

In March 2023, Parliament passed a series of amendments to the Election Code, including: changes to the system of voter registration, with the introduction of a Central Register of Voters and new rules for creating voter lists; reducing the time for Supreme Court decisions on electoral appeal; reducing the minimum number of voters per polling station from 500 to 200; changes to membership qualifications and appointment process for constituency and district election commissions; providing free transport to polling stations people over 60 or with disabilities if no regular transport is available; providing for an allowance for contestants' observers; and allowing observers to make recordings of the voting process and obliging them to transmit their recordings to the government minister responsible for digitalization. 

Key Deadlines: 

  • Candidate filing deadline: 6 September 2023 

  • Voter registration deadline: N/A 

  • Voters can register to vote by mail (if eligible) until 2 October and change their registered polling place until 12 October. 

Main Parties in this Election:  

  • Law and Justice / Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) 

  • Leader: Jarosław KACZYŃSKI 

  • Seats won in last election: 48 seats out of 100 

  • Civic Coalition / Koalicja Obywatelska (KO) 

  • Leader: Donald TUSK 

  • Seats won in last election: 43 seats out of 100 

  • Polish Coalition / Koalicja Polsak (KP)  

  • Leader: Władysław KOSINIAK KAMYSZ 

  • Seats won in last election: 3 seats out of 100 

  • Leader: Krzysztof GAWKOWSKI 

  • Seats won in last election: 2 seats out of 100 

Population and Registered Voters: 

Gender Data: 

  • Female Population: 19,583,385 (2023 est.) 

  • CEDAW Status: Signed 29 May 1980, Ratified 30 July 1980 

  • Gender Quota: Women and men must make up at least 35% of a given party list, respectively. 

  • Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

  • Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 24 out of 100 (24%) in the Senate and 130 out of 460 (28.3%) in the Sejm  

Disability Data: 

  • CRPD Status: Signed 20 March 2007, Ratified 25 September 2012 

IFES Resources: 

  • Does IFES have a presence in Poland: No  

  • Election Access: Yes 

  • Election Judgements: Yes, 2 judgments and 24 resources  

Elections in Poland