SHARECountry Data
Poland (Republic of Poland) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 130 of 460 (28%) seats in the Sejm / Parliament are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Sep 13, 2022
Single/Lower House
Sejm / Parliament
| Total seats | 460 |
| Total Women | 130 |
| % Women | 28% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | Amendments to the Election Code adopted in January 2011 introduced legislated candidate quotas on electoral lists to the Sejm. ‘The number of candidates who are women cannot be less than 35% of all candidates on the list. The number of candidates who are men cannot be less than 35% of all candidates on the list’ (Article 211 (3)) |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | If a list falls short of meeting the quota requirement, ‘the commission shall request the person notifying the list to remove [the defect] within 3 days. In the case of defects not removed within the specified time, the commission decides to refuse to register the list in its entirety’ (Article 215 (5)). |
| Rank order/placement rules | No | None |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | The only reference to gender equality is included in the Election Code and concerns the requirement of min. 35% of women on the lists of candidates in elections to the Sejm and local elections. This provision does not affect the financing of political parties or election committees. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | There are no provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Senat / Senate
| Total seats | 100 |
| Total Women | 24 |
| % Women | 24% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | No legislated> |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: No legislated | Electoral law | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No data available | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | ‘The number of candidates who are women cannot be less than 35% of all candidates on the list. The number of candidates who are men cannot be less than 35% of all candidates on the list’ (Article 425 [3]). ‘For lists that include 3 candidates, there must be at least one candidate of each gender’ (Article 457 [2]). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | If a list falls short of meeting this requirement, ‘the commission shall request the person notifying the list to remove it within 3 days. In the case of defects not removed within the specified time, the commission decides to refuse to register the list in its entirety’ (Article 431). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | For lists that include 3 candidates, there must be at least one candidate of each gender (Article 1 (3) of the Amendment Act 134, January 2011). |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Greens | Partia Zieloni [PZ] | All elected bodies of the Green Party are made up of an even number of members and female members. Men may not constitute more than 50% of the composition of the governing bodies, unless the statute provides otherwise. Lists of candidates and candidates of the Party in elections to the Sejm, the European Parliament and in local elections, held according to the proportional system, are filled alternately with persons of different sex until all representatives of one sex are exhausted. Men receive no more than 50% of the first places on electoral lists (Art. 15, PZ Statutes). |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
The new regulations were adopted in 2011 to apply to any elections, including parliamentary elections (except the Senate), European Parliament elections and municipal elections, called after a six-month period from the date of entry into force of the new law.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Poland 2011 Election Code
- Ustawa z dnia 5 stycznia 2011 r. o zmianie ustawy – Ordynacja wyborcza do rad gmin, rad powiatów i sejmików województw, ustawy – Ordynacja wyborcza do Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej i do Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz ustawy – Ordynacja wyborcza do Parlamentu Europejskiego [Act of 5 January 2011 amending the Electoral Code of Poland – election to municipal councils, county councils and regional councils, amending the Law – Elections to the Polish Sejm and Senate of the Polish Republic and the Law – Elections to the European Parliament]
OTHER SOURCES:
- Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/electoral-assistance/elecdata-poland
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Poland on iKNOW Politics
- Fuszara, M. 2008. Poland - One step forward, one step back: The Polish dance around a quota system, in Electoral Gender Quota Systems and Their Implementation in Europe. Report to the European Parliament by Drude Dahlerup and Lenita Freidenvall in co-operation with International IDEA. PE 408:309.
- Vlasta, J. & Antic, M. 2000. Prospects for Gender Equality Policies in Central and Eastern Europe. Vienna: Institute for Human Sciences.
- Siemienska, R. 2000. Political Representation of Women and Mechanisms of its Creation in Poland. Paper presented at the Perspectives for Gender Equality Politics in Central and Eastern Europe Workshop. The Peace Institute, Ljubljana, May.
- Regulska, J. 1998. Transitions to Local Democracy: Do Polish Women Have a Chance? Marilyn Rueschmeyer. (ed.). Women in the Politics of Post Communist Eastern Europe. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. pp. 33-63
- Siemienska, R. 1998. Consequences of Ecenomic and Political Changes for Women in Poland’ Jacquette Jane and Sharon L. Wolchik (eds.). Women and Democracy. Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. John Hopkins University Press, pp. 125-152.
- Poland Parliament website, http://www.sejm.gov.pl/