1993 Polish parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 19 September 1993. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The elections were won by the left-wing parties of the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish People's Party, who formed a coalition government. The coalition was just four seats short of a supermajority.

1993 Polish parliamentary election

← 1991 19 September 1993 (1993-09-19) 1997 →
Opinion polls
Registered	27,655,495
Sejm
All 460 seats in the Sejm 231 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	14,415,586 (52.13%) 8.93pp
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski Waldemar Pawlak Tadeusz Mazowiecki Party SLD PSL UD Leader since 30 January 1990 29 June 1991 12 May 1991 Leader's seat Warsaw Płock Poznań Last election 11.9%, 60 seats 8.7%, 48 seats 12.3%, 62 seats Seats won 171 132 74 Seat change 111 84 12 Popular vote 2,815,169 2,124,367 1,460,957 Percentage 20.4% 15.4% 10.6% Swing 8.4 pp 6.7 pp 1.7 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ryszard Bugaj Leszek Moczulski Andrzej Gąsienica-Makowski Party UP KPN BBWR Leader since 1992 1 September 1979 1993 Leader's seat Warsaw Kraków Nowy Sącz Last election Did not exist 7.5%, 46 seats Did not exist Seats won 41 22 16 Seat change New 24 New Popular vote 1,005,004 795,487 746,653 Percentage 7.3% 5.8% 5.4% Swing New 1.7 pp New
Senate
All 100 seats in the Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	14,408,367 (52.10%) 8.90pp
Party Vote % Seats +/– SLD 18.31 37 +33 PSL 11.88 36 +29 UD 10.69 4 −17 KO "S" 9.84 9 −2 BBWR 8.05 2 New UP 4.11 2 New KLD 3.99 1 −5 ZP 2.23 1 New PSL-PL 1.05 1 −4 MN 0.46 1 0 KIK – SRK [pl][a] 0.37 1 New NSZZ RI "S" 0.12 1 New Independents 4.01 4 +4 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Sejm – results by constituency Sejm – results by gmina Senate – results by constituency Government before Government after Suchocka cabinet UD—ZChN—KLD—PSL-PL—SLCh—PChD—PPG Second Pawlak Cabinet SLD (SdRP)—PSL

Electoral law

Changes to the electoral law adopted in the spring of 1993 made medium and large groups be rewarded as a result of division of seats in the D'Hondt method and electoral thresholds were introduced: 5% for parties, 7% for national lists and 8% for electoral blocs.^[1]

Campaign

The sudden dissolution of the First Term Sejm meant that most parties were not prepared for the election campaign. The previous dispute between the post-Solidarity and post-communist camps gave way to conflicts within the former to a large extent. Under the influence of the divergence of paths between the centrist Solidarity and the right, already visible in the 1991 campaign and intensified in 1993, conflicts within the non-leftist parties gained even more intensity. As a result, the Democratic Union (UD) had to compete for a similar electorate with the Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD). Part of the right (Christian National Union, Conservative Party, Christian-Peasant Party) started in the "Fatherland" bloc, but the rest entered the elections independently, or only coalescing microparties around them: the Centre Agreement – Polish Union (PC-ZP), Peasants' Agreement (PSL-PL), Coalition for the Republic (KdR), Confederation of Independent Poland (KPN), Solidarity ("S"), Real Politics Union (UPR). Further attempts at uniting the right-wing parties failed, and as a consequence, most of them would fall under the 5% threshold.^[2] President Lech Wałęsa sponsored the pro-presidential Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms (BBWR) list.^[3][4]

Against the background of the internal fighting in the Solidarity camp,^[5] the united left under the banner of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the Labour Union (UP) and the more centrist Polish People's Party (PSL) appeared to many voters as forces guaranteeing stability. The lack of responsibility for the reforms of 1991-1993, including the closure of many workplaces, the rapidly growing unemployment rate and the drop in living standards, resulted in the gradual gaining of new supporters during the campaign.^[6] While the elections in June 1989 took on the character of a plebiscite on the rejection of the Polish People's Republic, in the accelerated elections of 1993, with a much higher turnout than two years earlier was seen as a referendum on the first years of the systemic transformation took place.^[7]

During the campaign, the victorious left wing segmented the electoral market, on the one hand emphasizing the threat of perceived Catholic fundamentalist policies such as concordat and strict abortion policy addressing its message to the left-wing electorate, and on the other, playing on the sentiment for the times of the Polish People's Republic for economic stability, it sought rapprochement with those who were not beneficiaries of the changes that followed the collapse of the communist system and expected an alternative in the socio-economic dimension, applying primarily to employees of the public sector and those employed in state-owned industry, including the liquidated State Agricultural Farms.^[8] The SLD blamed the doctrinaire and incompetence of the Solidarity teams for the mistakes of the transformation, declaring that it had a program and human resources capable of correcting the direction taken at the beginning of the Third Polish Republic. The PSL called for greater interventionism and protectionism in the economy. It also criticized the ongoing privatization, pointing to the advantages of other forms of ownership, such as cooperatives. Alongside with the SLD, it criticized parties and politicians of Solidarity origin. With its bold social appeal it tried to exploit the skepticism of residents of rural areas and small towns, where there were many dissatisfied with the systemic transformation [pl].^[9]

The Democratic Union focused mainly to economic issues in its campaign, defending the direction of the changes to date and emphasizing the need for further sacrifices. It emphasized its commitment to the principles of the market economy and presented itself as a responsible, pro-state entity. The PSL was closer to the center-right groups, due to the specificity of its electoral base.^[10] The UP emphasized its commitment to the principles of the secular state. The KPN and the BBWR positioned themselves in opposition to both the post-communist camp and the anti-presidential right.^[11]

The message of the Centre Agreement – Polish Union and the Coalition for the Republic was almost entirely convergent and mainly concerned demands for breaking with the continuity of the Polish People's Republic in the Third Polish Republic. Politicians of the Fatherland bloc presented themselves as defenders of the conservative values including family values and private property. In turn, the Real Politics Union and the Liberal Democratic Congress called for further liberalization and privatization of the economy. The campaign of Solidarity and the PC-ZP was dominated by nationalistic, but at the same time social message.^[12]

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 1993 Polish parliamentary election

Results

Results of the Sejm election, showing vote strength by electoral district.

Sejm

Because of the introduction of electoral thresholds set at 5% for party lists and 8% for coalitions, 34% of valid votes were wasted.^[13]

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Left Alliance		Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland	1,615,355	11.71	77	+32
			All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions	307,536	2.23	25	–
			Democratic Union of Women [pl]	39,940	0.29	2	–
			Polish Socialist Party	38,015	0.28	4	+4
			National Party of Retirees and Pensioners[b]	7,126	0.05	0	–
			Polish Socialist Youth Union	6,245	0.05	1	–
			Independents and others	800,952	5.81	62	–
		Total		2,815,169	20.41	171	+111
	Polish People's Party			2,124,367	15.40	132	+84
	Democratic Union			1,460,957	10.59	74	+12
	Labour Union			1,005,004	7.28	41	+36
	Catholic Electoral Committee "Fatherland"		Christian National Union	415,865	3.01	0	−49
			Party of Christian Democrats	145,477	1.05	0	−4
			Christian-Peasant Party	134,013	0.97	0	−10
			Conservative Party	71,295	0.52	0	New
			Federation of Polish Entrepreneurship	22,457	0.16	0	−2
			Rural Solidarity	8,967	0.06	0	New
			Independents and others	80,371	0.58	0	New
		Total		878,445	6.37	0	−65
	Confederation of Independent Poland		Confederation of Independent Poland	392,985	2.85	11	–
			Solidarity 80 [pl]	21,547	0.16	0	–
			Polish Ecological Party "The Greens"	18,402	0.13	0	–
			Rural Solidarity	5,204	0.04	0	–
			Independents and others	357,349	2.59	11	–
		Total		795,487	5.77	22	–24
	Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms			746,653	5.41	16	New
	Solidarity			676,334	4.90	0	–27
	Centre Agreement – Polish Union			609,973	4.42	0	–44
	Liberal Democratic Congress			550,578	3.99	0	–37
	Real Politics Union			438,559	3.18	0	–3
	Lepper's Self-Defence			383,967	2.78	0	New
	Party X			377,480	2.74	0	–3
	Coalition for the Republic		Movement for the Republic	34,494	0.25	0	New
			Party of Polish Democracy	12,011	0.09	0	−1
			Rural Solidarity	11,561	0.08	0	New
			Solidarity 80 [pl]	7,807	0.06	0	New
			Freedom Party [pl]	4,709	0.03	0	New
			Patriotic Forum of Fighting Poland	1,362	0.01	0	New
			National Party	934	0.01	0	0
			National Party of the Unemployed	602	0.00	0	New
			Independents and others	298,443	2.16	0	New
		Total		371,923	2.70	0	New
	Peasants' Agreement		Rural Solidarity	33,592	0.24	0	–
			Peasants' Agreement	19,452	0.14	0	–
			Solidarity	883	0.01	0	–
			Independents	273,158	1.98	0	–
		Total		327,085	2.37	0	–28
	German Minority		German Minority of Silesian Opole	60,770	0.44	3	−4
			Social-Cultural Association of Germans - DFK [pl]	23,396	0.17	1	New
			German Community "Reconciliation and Future" [pl]	13,776	0.10	0	0
			German Minority of Częstochowskie Vvs.	10,068	0.07	0	New
			German Minority of Olsztyńskie Vvs.	2,444	0.02	0	New
		Total		110,454	0.80	4	–3
	Polish Beer-Lovers' Party		Polish Party of the Greens [pl]	124	0.00	0	0
			Independents	14,258	0.10	0	–16
		Total		14,382	0.10	0	–16
	Local lists and independents			109,410	0.79	0	0
Total				13,796,227	100.00	460	0
Valid votes				13,796,227	95.70
Invalid/blank votes				619,359	4.30
Total votes				14,415,586	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				27,655,495	52.13
Source: National Electoral Commission[14]

By constituency

No.	Constituency	Total seats	Seats won
			SLD	PSL	UD	UP	KPN	BBWR	MN
1	Warsaw I	17	7		5	3	1	1
2	Warsaw II	8	2	2	2	1		1
3	Biała Podlaska	3	1	2
4	Białystok	7	4	1	1	1
5	Bielsko-Biała	9	3	1	2	1	1	1
6	Bydgoszcz	11	6	2	2	1
7	Chełm	3	1	2
8	Ciechanów	4	2	2
9	Częstochowa	8	3	2	1	1	1
10	Elbląg	5	3	1	1
11	Gdańsk	15	5	2	3	2	1	2
12	Gorzów Wielkopolski	5	2	2	1
13	Jelenia Góra	5	2	1	1	1
14	Kalisz	7	3	3	1
15	Sosnowiec	10	6	1	1	1	1
16	Katowice	17	6	1	4	2	2	2
17	Gliwice	14	4	1	3	1	2	2	1
18	Kielce	11	4	4	1	1	1
19	Konin	5	2	3
20	Koszalin	5	3	1	1
21	Kraków	13	3	2	4	1	2	1
22	Krosno	5	1	2	1		1
23	Legnica	5	3	1		1
24	Leszno	4	2	2
25	Lublin	10	4	4	1		1
26	Łomża	4	1	3
27	Łódź	12	5	1	2	2	1	1
28	Nowy Sącz	7	1	2	1		1	2
29	Olsztyn	8	4	2	1	1
30	Opole	10	3	2	1	1			3
31	Ostrołęka	4	1	3
32	Piła	5	3	1	1
33	Piotrków Trybunalski	7	2	3		1	1
34	Płock	5	1	4
35	Poznań	14	4	2	5	3
36	Przemyśl	4	1	3
37	Radom	8	2	4	1			1
38	Rzeszów	7	2	3	1		1
39	Siedlce	7	2	5
40	Sieradz	4	1	3
41	Skierniewice	4	1	3
42	Słupsk	4	2	1	1
43	Suwałki	5	2	2		1
44	Szczecin	10	4	1	2	1	1	1
45	Tarnobrzeg	6	2	3			1
46	Tarnów	7	1	4	1		1
47	Toruń	7	3	2	1	1
48	Wałbrzych	8	4	1	2	1
49	Włocławek	4	3	1
50	Wrocław	12	4	2	3	1	1	1
51	Zamość	5	1	4
52	Zielona Góra	7	3	2	1	1
National list		69	26	20	14	9
Total		460	171	132	74	41	22	16	4
Source: National Electoral Commission

Senate

Voters were able to cast as many votes as there were seats available in their constituency.^[15]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Left Alliance	4,993,061	18.31	37	+33
	Polish People's Party	3,238,999	11.88	36	+29
	Democratic Union	2,913,773	10.69	4	–17
	Solidarity	2,683,085	9.84	9	–2
	Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms	2,193,970	8.05	2	New
	Confederation of Independent Poland	1,646,654	6.04	0	–4
	Labour Union	1,121,744	4.11	2	New
	Liberal Democratic Congress	1,088,769	3.99	1	–5
	Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland	650,727	2.39	0	New
	Polish Union	607,624	2.23	1	New
	Christian National Union	486,387	1.78	0	New
	Real Politics Union	434,657	1.59	0	0
	Catholic Electoral Committee "Fatherland"	323,135	1.19	0	–9
	Silesian Autonomy Movement	304,877	1.12	0	New
	Coalition for the Republic	290,361	1.06	0	New
	Peasants' Agreement	285,406	1.05	1	–4
	Democratic Party	218,295	0.80	0	0
	Polish Convention [pl]	156,129	0.57	0	New
	Association of Friends of the John Paul II Museum [pl]	155,538	0.57	0	New
	Citizens' Electoral Committee	129,961	0.48	0	New
	German Minority	124,986	0.46	1	0
	KIK–SRK [pl][c]	99,737	0.37	1	New
	Service to the Child[d]	90,790	0.33	0	–
	Party of Christian Democrats	81,029	0.30	0	–
	Polish Beer-Lovers' Party	77,365	0.28	0	–
	Kashubian–Pomeranian Association	75,038	0.28	0	–
	Patriotic Forum of Fighting Poland[e]	63,752	0.23	0	–
	Club of Catholic Intelligentsia – Lublin [pl][f]	60,935	0.22	0	–
	Orthodox Electoral Committee	51,815	0.19	0	–
	Polish Federation of Engineering Associations	46,131	0.17	0	–
	Social Movement for the Region and Poland	37,984	0.14	0	–
	Polish Aid Council	37,780	0.14	0	–
	Fatherland – Polish List	37,055	0.14	0	–
	Disabled People Live Among Us	35,150	0.13	0	–
	Rural Solidarity[g]	33,682	0.12	1	–
	Party X	33,223	0.12	0	0
	PIAST [pl]	31,187	0.11	0	–
	Rural Solidarity[h]	27,362	0.10	0	–
	Christian-Peasant Party[i]	27,137	0.10	0	–
	Polish Dignity	22,348	0.08	0	–
	Defense of Working People	22,137	0.08	0	–
	People not Parties	20,086	0.07	0	–
	District Council of Nurses and Midwives	19,189	0.07	0	–
	TEMIDA Lawyers' Association	18,079	0.07	0	–
	Experience-Expertise-Prudence	17,083	0.06	0	–
	Health–Knowledge–Success	16,835	0.06	0	–
	About Polish Farming	16,230	0.06	0	–
	For the Health of Poles	15,605	0.06	0	–
	TKKFKŻAK [pl]	15,407	0.06	0	–
	National Committee of Voters[j]	15,406	0.06	0	–
	Help for the Victims and the Needy	15,256	0.06	0	–
	Alliance of Christian Groups	13,350	0.05	0	–
	Woman Poland and Independence	12,762	0.05	0	–
	Polish Greens Party [pl]	12,631	0.05	0	–
	Catholic Society for the Service of Children	11,880	0.04	0	–
	Polish Socialist Party	10,985	0.04	0	–
	Union of Poles in Poland	10,705	0.04	0	–
	National Party[k]	10,235	0.04	0	–
	Conservative Party	10,231	0.04	0	–
	Polish Ecological Union	10,157	0.04	0	–
	Civic Forum	9,892	0.04	0	–
	White and Red	9,524	0.03	0	–
	For Political and Economic Order	9,063	0.03	–	–
	Regional Electoral Initiative	8,306	0.03	0	–
	FAMILY	8,273	0.03	0	–
	Association of Sybiraks [pl]	6,798	0.02	0	–
	Catholic Justice Action "Equality"	4,856	0.02	0	–
	Local lists	696,354	2.55	0	–
	Independents[l]	1,198,999	4.40	4	–
Total		27,263,952	100.00	100	0
Valid votes		13,985,535	97.07
Invalid/blank votes		422,832	2.93
Total votes		14,408,367	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		27,655,495	52.10
Source: Prawo

By voivodeship

Voivodeship	Total seats	Seats won
		SLD	PSL	KO "S"	UD	BBWR	KLD	Others
Biała Podlaska	2		2
Białystok	2	1						1
Bielsko	2			1	1
Bydgoszcz	2	2
Chełm	2	1	1
Ciechanów	2	1	1
Częstochowa	2	1	1
Elbląg	2	1	1
Gdańsk	2	1		1
Gorzów	2	1	1
Jelenia Góra	2	2
Kalisz	2	2
Katowice	3	1		1		1
Kielce	2	1	1
Konin	2		2
Koszalin	2	1						1
Kraków	2			1	1
Krosno	2		1	1
Legnica	2	1	1
Leszno	2	2
Lublin	2	1	1
Łomża	2		1					1
Łódź	2	1						1
Nowy Sącz	2			1		1
Olsztyn	2	1	1
Opole	2				1			1
Ostrołęka	2		1	1
Piła	2	1						1
Piotrków	2	1	1
Płock	2		2
Poznań	2						1	1
Przemyśl	2		1	1
Radom	2	1	1
Rzeszów	2		1					1
Siedlce	2		2
Sieradz	2		2
Skierniewice	2		2
Słupsk	2	1	1
Suwałki	2	1	1
Szczecin	2	2
Tarnobrzeg	2		2
Tarnów	2		1	1
Toruń	2	1						1
Wałbrzych	2	2
Warsaw	3		1	1	1
Włocławek	2	2
Wrocław	2	2
Zamość	2		2
Zielona Góra	2	1						1
Total	100	37	36	10	4	2	1	10
Source: National Electoral Commission

Notes

1. Barbara Łękawa [pl], the only elected candidate, was seated in the Senate as part of NSZZ "Solidarność"
2. Results of parties that merged to form the National Party of Retirees and Pensioners in the following months.
3. Barbara Łękawa [pl], the only elected candidate, was seated in the Senate as part of NSZZ "Solidarność"
4. The two candidates, Maria Hrabowska [pl] in Gdańsk and Ryszard Pacławski in Krosno were both leaders of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
5. Part of the Coalition for the Republic
6. Unaffiliated with the other KIK circles.
7. Independent Self-Governing Trade Union of Individual Farmers "Solidarity" Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy Rolników Indywidualnych "Solidarność" (Polish)
8. "Rolnicza Solidarność" (Polish), unaffiliated with Independent Self-Governing Trade Union of Individual Farmers "Solidarity"
9. Part of the Catholic Electoral Committee "Fatherland"
10. National Party: Maciej Giertych, Andrzej Fedorowicz
11. National Party: Eugeniusz Grzejdniak
12. Henryk Stokłosa [pl], Elżbieta Solska [pl], Jerzy Madej [pl], Aleksander Gawronik