Polish legislative election, 1919
Encyclopedia
The Polish legislative election, 1919 took place on 26 January and were the first election in the Second Polish Republic
. The elections, based on universal suffrage
and proportional representation
, produced a parliament
balanced between Right, Left and Center (the Polish communists
and the Jewish Bund
boycotted it). Among the first tasks of the Sejm
was creation of the constitution
, and the Small Constitution of 1919
was voted ten days after the first session, on 20 February 1919. In 1921 a larger but also more controversial constitution (supported by Right, but opposed by Left) was voted for, the March Constitution of Poland
.
In the territories where the election took place, voter turnout was from 70% to 90%. Right-wing parties won 50% of votes, left-wing parties - some 30%, - Jewish organizations - more than 10%.
Since in 1919 borders of the newly restored Polish state were not yet established, government of Poland with Jozef Pilsudski
had problems with creation of the Electoral districts
. Upon a decree, signed by Pilsudski on 28 November 1918, Poland was divided into several districts, some of whom were not even part of the country. The list of these districts presents a declaration of Polish territorial claims rather than real situation of late 1918. It covers whole territory of the Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)
, formerly Russian Belostok Oblast
, as well as whole former Austrian province of Galicia, even though its eastern part was area of a conflict between Poles and Ukrainians (see Polish–Ukrainian War).
The situation was even more complicated in the West, in territories which had belonged to the German Empire
. Polish legislators created there several electoral districts, even in lands that never became part of the Second Polish Republic
. Thus, apart from districts of Poznań
, Toruń
, Kartuzy
, Katowice
, and Gostyń
, the government stipulated creation of districts in such locations, as Bytom
(Beuthen), Nysa
(Neisse), Złotów (Flatow), Gdańsk
(Danzig), and Olsztyn
(Allenstein). The 1919 election was not organized in these areas, as they remained part of Germany until 1945.
Furthermore, Polish legislators wanted the election to be organized in whole Cieszyn Silesia
(see also Zaolzie
). Therefore, districts were created there in Cieszyn
and Frydek-Mistek
. Also, the Nowy Targ
district covered several communes of Orawa
, and Spisz, with such towns, as Kie˝mark
, Lubowla, and Spisska Nowa Wies (these locations had been part of Poland until late 18th century, see: Treaty of Lubowla
).
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The elections, based on universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
and proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
, produced a parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
balanced between Right, Left and Center (the Polish communists
Communist Party of Poland
The Communist Party of Poland is a historical communist party in Poland. It was a result of the fusion of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania and the Polish Socialist Party-Left in the Communist Workers Party of Poland .-1918-1921:The KPRP was founded on 16 December 1918 as...
and the Jewish Bund
General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland was a Jewish socialist party in Poland which promoted the political, cultural and social autonomy of Jewish workers, sought to combat antisemitism and was generally opposed to Zionism.-Creation of the Polish Bund:...
boycotted it). Among the first tasks of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
was creation of the constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, and the Small Constitution of 1919
Small Constitution of 1919
The Small Constitution of 1919 was the "Legislative Sejm's ordinance of February 20, 1919, entrusting Józef Piłsudski with the further execution of the office of Chief of State" . The legislation was published as Dz. Pr. P.P...
was voted ten days after the first session, on 20 February 1919. In 1921 a larger but also more controversial constitution (supported by Right, but opposed by Left) was voted for, the March Constitution of Poland
March Constitution of Poland
The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution on 17 March 1921, after ousting the occupation of the German/Prussian forces in the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising, and avoiding conquest by the Soviets in the 1920 Polish-Soviet War. The Constitution, based on the French one, was regarded as...
.
In the territories where the election took place, voter turnout was from 70% to 90%. Right-wing parties won 50% of votes, left-wing parties - some 30%, - Jewish organizations - more than 10%.
Since in 1919 borders of the newly restored Polish state were not yet established, government of Poland with Jozef Pilsudski
Józef Pilsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski was a Polish statesman—Chief of State , "First Marshal" , and authoritarian leader of the Second Polish Republic. From mid-World War I he had a major influence in Poland's politics, and was an important figure on the European political scene...
had problems with creation of the Electoral districts
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
. Upon a decree, signed by Pilsudski on 28 November 1918, Poland was divided into several districts, some of whom were not even part of the country. The list of these districts presents a declaration of Polish territorial claims rather than real situation of late 1918. It covers whole territory of the Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)
Kingdom of Poland (1916–1918)
The Kingdom of Poland, also informally called the Regency Kingdom of Poland , was a proposed puppet state during World War I by Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1916 after their conquest of the former Congress Poland from Russia...
, formerly Russian Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast
Belostok Oblast was an administrative division in the Russian Empire. The region had a capital in Belostok .-History:...
, as well as whole former Austrian province of Galicia, even though its eastern part was area of a conflict between Poles and Ukrainians (see Polish–Ukrainian War).
The situation was even more complicated in the West, in territories which had belonged to the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Polish legislators created there several electoral districts, even in lands that never became part of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Thus, apart from districts of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
, Kartuzy
Kartuzy
Kartuzy is a town in the historic Eastern Pomerania region of northwestern Poland, located about west of Gdańsk with a population of 15,472...
, Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
, and Gostyń
Gostyn
Gostyń is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship , in Gostyń County. According to 30 June 2004 data its population was 20,746.-Geography:Gostyń is located at 17°01' East and 51°53' North....
, the government stipulated creation of districts in such locations, as Bytom
Bytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
(Beuthen), Nysa
Nysa
- People :*Nysa , daughter of Laodice IV and Antiochus, wife of Pharnaces I of Pontus* Nysa of Cappadocia, daughter of Pharnaces I of Pontus and Nysa, wife of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and mother Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia...
(Neisse), Złotów (Flatow), Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
(Danzig), and Olsztyn
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
(Allenstein). The 1919 election was not organized in these areas, as they remained part of Germany until 1945.
Furthermore, Polish legislators wanted the election to be organized in whole Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia
Cieszyn Silesia or Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered around the towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín and bisected by the Olza River. Since 1920 it has been divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic...
(see also Zaolzie
Zaolzie
Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...
). Therefore, districts were created there in Cieszyn
Cieszyn
Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....
and Frydek-Mistek
Frýdek-Místek
Frýdek-Místek is a city in Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is the administrative center of Frýdek-Místek District. It comprises two formerly independent towns, Frýdek and Místek, divided by the Ostravice River...
. Also, the Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ is a town in southern Poland with 34,000 inhabitants , and the historical capital of the mountain region . The town is situated in the confluence of the rivers Biały and Czarny Dunajec, in a valley beneath the Gorce Mountains. It's in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship...
district covered several communes of Orawa
Orava (region)
Orava is the traditional name of a region situated in northern Slovakia and partially also in southern Poland . It encompasses the territory of the former Árva county.-History:...
, and Spisz, with such towns, as Kie˝mark
Kežmarok
Kežmarok is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia , on the Poprad River.-History:...
, Lubowla, and Spisska Nowa Wies (these locations had been part of Poland until late 18th century, see: Treaty of Lubowla
Treaty of Lubowla
Treaty of Lubowla of 1412 was a treaty between Władysław II, King of Poland, and Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary. Negotiated in the town of Stará Ľubovňa in modern Slovakia, it was confirmed later that year in Buda....
).
External links
Further reading
- A. J. Groth, Polish Elections 1919-1928, Slavic Review, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Dec., 1965), pp. 653–665 JSTOR