ELECTIONS HELD IN 1997
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| Chamber: | |
| Sejm | |
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| 21 September 1997 | |
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| Elections were held for all the seats of the Diet on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. | |
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| The date of the 1997 elections was announced in June by President of the Republic Aleksander Kwasniewski. By the deadline of 1 September for registration of candidates, over 20 parties or coalitions had nominated some 6400 contestants for the 460 Diet seats and approximately 500 for the 100 Senate seats.
The two main rivals in both cases were the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), led by the ex-communist Social Democracy Party (SDRP) of Mr. Jozef Oleksy, and the Solidarity Election Action (AWS), a right-wing opposition bloc of 36 parties gathered around the Solidarity trade union. These two groups had similar platforms, both favouring pro-market economic policies and, in foreign affairs, supporting integration with the European Union and NATO; AWS, however, put greater emphasis on traditional, Christian values and, among other things, opposed abortion. A third force to be reckoned with was the Freedom Union (UW) headed by Mr. Leszek Balcerowicz, regarded as the architect of Poland’s economic reforms in the 1990s which had led to a current annual growth rate of 6%. The campaign as a whole was generally calm. On polling day, AWS, founded in 1996 and led by Mr. Marian Krzaklewski, emerged on top with 201 Diet seats to 164 for SLD which, in comparison with the previous (1993) parliamentary elections, gained in vote percentage but not seats. UW had a similar fate while the Peasant Party (PSL), partner in the outgoing governing coalition with the SLD, lost more than 100 seats to fall to fourth place. Only one other group - the Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP) - crossed the 5% threshold needed for Diet representation. In the Senate races, SLD retained its leading position, trailed closely by PSL. Given the overall election outcome, Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz (SLD) was replaced by Mr. Jerzy Buzek (AWS) on 17 October; he heads a coalition Cabinet composed of AWS and UW members. |
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STATISTICS
| Round no 1 (21 September 1997): Elections results | |
| Number of registered electors | 28,409,054 |
| Voters | 13,616,378 (47.93%) |
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 528,147 |
| Valid votes | 13,088,231 |
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | |||
| Political Group | % | ||
| Solidarity Election Action (AWS) | 33.83 | ||
| Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) | 27.13 | ||
| Freedom Union (UW) | 13.37 | ||
| Polish Peasant Party (PSL) | 7.31 | ||
| Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP) | 5.56 | ||
| German Minority of Lower Silesia | n.a. | ||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
| Political Group | Total | Gain/Loss | |
| Solidarity Election Action (AWS) | 201 | +201 | |
| Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) | 164 | -7 | |
| Freedom Union (UW) | 60 | -14 | |
| Polish Peasant Party (PSL) | 27 | -105 | |
| Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP) | 6 | +6 | |
| German Minority of Lower Silesia | 2 | n.a. | |
| Distribution of seats according to sex: | |
| Men: | 400 |
| Women: | 60 |
| Percent of women: | 13.04 |
| Distribution of seats according to age: | ||
| 20-29 years | 13 | |
| 30-39 years | 83 | |
| 40-49 years | 202 | |
| 50-59 years | 136 | |
| 60-69 years | 22 | |
| 70-79 years | 4 | |
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| Technicians | 122 | |
| Legal professions | 75 | |
| Academics/researchers | 64 | |
| Economists | 45 | |
| Farmers | 32 | |
| Medical professions | 23 | |
| Politicians | 21 | |
| Clerical staff | 7 | |
| Journalists/writers/publishers | 3 | |
| Others | 68 | |
Copyright © 1997 Inter-Parliamentary Union