The next Polish parliamentary elections will be held on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators will be elected.
Electoral system
The 460 members of the Sejm are elected by open party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Seats are allocated using the D’hondt method, with a 5% threshold for single parties and 8% threshold for coalitions (although requirements waived for national minorities). The Senate is elected using first-past-the-post voting in single-member districts. Candidates for Deputies are nominated either by the electoral committees of the various political parties and or by individual voter committees.
Overall, the Sejm includes 460 MPs. Should a party have 231 or more deputies in Parliament, it has an absolute majority and could thus govern autonomously, without a coalition partner. The constitution can be amended with a supermajority of two-thirds, or 307 deputies.
Election date
The date of the election, 13 October, was set by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
The Constitution of Poland requires that the next election should take place on a non-working day, Sunday or national holiday, within the 30-day period before the expiry of the 4-year period beginning from the commencement of the current Sejm’s and Senate’s term of office. Elections can be held earlier under certain conditions, for instance if the Sejm is dissolved or no government is created in time limited by the constitution.
Since the current Sejm and Senate first sitting took place on 12 November 2015, possible dates were Sundays 13 October, 20 October, 27 October, 3 November and 10 November 2019. The other possible but unlikely dates were public holidays 1 November (All Saints’ Day) and 11 November (Independence Day) 2019.
Parties Standing in the election
Electoral committees contesting the election:
1) PSL
2) PiS
3) SLD
4) Confederation
5) KO
Sources and further reading:
Elections in Poland and Romania, and What Will Follow for the EU
Ruling party suspends Polish parliament ahead of election
https://emerging-europe.com/news/ruling-party-suspends-polish-parliament-ahead-of-election
Why Poland’s Populist Law and Justice Party Keeps Winning