At stake in this election:

• 460 seats in the Sejm

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 Senate (Senat) with 100 seats and the Sejm with 460 seats.

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 parliament.
• In the Senate (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 parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Civic Platform / Platforma Obywatelska (PO)
  • Leader: Donald TUSK
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 54
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: 204
• Party: Law and Justice / Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS)
  • Leader: Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 39
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: 147
• Party: Democratic Left Alliance / Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (SLD)
  • Leader: Grzegorz Bernard NAPIERALSKI
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 1
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: 53
• Party: Polish Peasant Party / Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (PSL)
  • Leader: Waldemar PAWLAK
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 1
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: 31
• Party: Poland Comes First / Polska jest Najważniejsza (PJN)
  • Leader: Paweł KOWAL
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: N/A
• Party: Palikot's Movement / Ruch Palikota (RP)
  • Leader: Janusz PALIKOT
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last Sejm election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 38,063,255 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 30,762,931 (October 2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 19,644,031 (2011)

·         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: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 110 (Sejm); 13 (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: 5,709,488 (est.)