At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Poland

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 Senat with 100 seats and the Sejm with 460 seats.

* KOMOROWSKI became acting president following the death of Lech KACZYNSKI in an airplane crash.

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 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.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Bronisław KOMOROWSKI
  • Party: Civic Platform / Platforma Obywatelska (PO)
• Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI
  • Party: Law and Justice / Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS)
• Waldemar PAWLAK
  • Party: Polish People's Party / Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (PSL)
• Grzegorz NAPIERALSKI
  • Party: Democratic Left Alliance / Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (SLD)
• Andrzej Zbigniew LEPPER
  • Party: Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland / Samoobrona Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej (SRP)
• Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE
  • Party: Liberty and Rule of Law / Wolność i Praworządność (WIP)
• Marek JUREK
  • Party: Right of the Republic / Prawica Rzeczypospolitej
• Kornel MORAWIECKI
  • Independent(s): Independent
• Andrzej OLECHOWSKI
  • Independent(s): Independent
• Boguslaw ZIETEK**********
  • Party: Free Trade Union / Wolny Związek Zawodowy

********** The Free Trade Union cooperates with the Polish Labour Party .

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 38,042,794 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 30,813,005 (June 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 19,629,731 (2010)

·         Is Poland a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (29 May 1980)

·         Has Poland ratified CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980)

·         Gender Quota: Yes 

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 94 (Sejm); 8 (Senate) following the 2007 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 36 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Poland a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Poland ratified CRPD: Yes (25 September 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 5,706,419 (est.)