The Legislative Sejm ( Polish: Sejm Ustawodawczy) of the Second Polish Republic was the first national parliament ( Sejm) of the newly independent Second Polish Republic. It was elected in the 1919 Polish legislative election.
The Legislative Sejm was formed in the aftermath of World War I on the territories of the newly independent Second Polish Republic. [1] In late 1918 Polish state was governed by Józef Piłsudski, who quickly begun the work to organize election to the first Polish national parliament ( Sejm) since the Grodno Sejm of 1793, held two years before partitions of Poland ended the independent existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. [1]
The elections to the Sejm took place on January 26, 1919. [1] At that time, Poland did not have fixed boundaries, and was involved in territorial conflicts and disputes. [1] On the territories under the nascent Polish state's control, in the lands of former Congress Kingdom and Podlasie region, and western Lesser Poland, 42 electoral districts returned 302 deputies. [2] In addition, 20 Polish deputies to the German Parliament, 26 Polish deputies to the Austro-Hungarian Parliament, and selected candidates from the Cieszyn region (where elections were disrupted due to hostilities) were added to the Sejm. [3] In the coming months, as the Polish control grew over some disputed territories, more elections were held: on April 25, 1919, in Greater Poland and on June 15, 1919 in the Białystok and Podlasie regions. [3] Some deputies who were provisional representatives yielded their seats to the newly elected ones. [3] On March 24, 1922, the Sejm was joined by 20 deputies from the Republic of Central Lithuania (the dissolved Sejm of Central Lithuania). [3] The Sejm thus had a changing number of deputies, starting at 348 and ending its term with 432 members. [3] About 5 million votes were cast in the election. [4]
Important legislation passed by the Sejm included laws on the military draft, land reform, and the development of a constitution, and the state-sponsored health insurance system. [5] [6] In 1921 the Sejm passed the March Constitution. [6]
Due to the changing number of deputies, and the ongoing fragmentation and merger of various parties, there is a number of different composition listings for the Legislative Sejm. [a]
The composition of the Legislative Sejm was as follows: [4] [7]
Party or group (Polish name) | Party or group (Jędruch) | Party or group (Nohlen and Stöver) | Votes (Nohlen and Stöver) | % (Nohlen and Stöver) | Seats (Nohlen and Stöver) | Seats (Jędruch) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Związek Ludowo-Narodowy | not listed | Popular National Union | 1,616,157 | 29.0 | 140 | ? |
? | National Democrats | not listed | 72 | |||
Polska Partia Socjalistyczna | Socialist | Polish Socialist Party | 515,062 | 9.2 | 35 | 34 |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Wyzwolenie" | Peasant Wyzwolenie | Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" | 839,914 | 15.1 | 59 | 24 |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Piast" | Peasant Piast | Polish People's Party "Piast" | 232,983 | 4.2 | 46 | listed with no number |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe Lewica | not listed | Polish People's Party "Left" | 197,838 | 3.5 | 12 | |
? | not listed | Polish United Peasants' Party | 212,097 | 3.8 | 35 | |
? | not listed | Peasants' Lists | 234,399 | 4.2 | 0 | |
? | Peasants' Total | not listed | 90 | |||
? | Conservative | not listed | 44 | |||
Stronnictwo Katolicko-Ludowe | not listed | Catholic People's Party | 102,292 | 1.8 | 18 | |
? | Christian Democrats | not listed | 31 | |||
? | National Labor | not listed | 25 | |||
? | Middle Class | not listed | 63 | |||
? | Communist | not listed | 2 | |||
? | Minority (German) | National Minorities | 96,677 | 1.7 | 2 | 2 |
? | Minority (Jewish) | Jewish Group | 602,927 | 10.8 | 11 | 16 |
Narodowa Partia Pracy | not listed | National Workers' Union | 67,285 | 1.2 | 32 | |
Bezpartyjni; bez przynależności klubowej | Small parties, independents | Local lists and independents | 863,349 | 15.5 | 4 | 29 |
Total | 5,580,980 | 100 | 394 | 432 |
Marshal of the Sejm was Wojciech Trąmpczyński. [3]
Party | Seats | % |
---|---|---|
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Piast" Polish Folk | 96 | 22,3 |
Związek Ludowo-Narodowy | 81 | 18,8 |
Narodowe Zjednoczenie Ludowe | 45 | 3,9 |
Polska Partia Socjalistyczna | 34 | 10,4 |
Narodowo-Chrześcijańskie Stronnictwo Ludowe | 26 | 6,0 |
Narodowo-Chrześcijański Klub Robotniczy | 26 | 6,0 |
Klub: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Wyzwolenie" | 24 | 5,6 |
Narodowa Partia Robotnicza | 21 | 4,9 |
Klub Pracy Konstytucyjnej | 16 | 3,7 |
Klub: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe—Lewica | 11 | 2,5 |
Zjednoczenie Mieszczańskie | 11 | 2,5 |
Stronnictwo Katolicko-Ludowe | 7 | 1,6 |
Narodowa Partia Pracy (II RP) | 6 | 1,4 |
Rady Ludowe | 5 | 1,1 |
Komunistyczna Frakcja Poselska | 2 | 0,5 |
Wolne Zjednoczenie Posłów Narodowości Żydowskiej (Jews) | 10 | 2,9 |
Niemieckie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Germans) | 7 | 1,6 |
Independent | 4 | 0,9 |
Totals | 432 | 100 |
a. ^ Neither Nohlen and Stöver nor Jędruch did retain original for Polish parties and groups; they used their own translations. As such, identification with a particular entity was not always possible.
The Legislative Sejm ( Polish: Sejm Ustawodawczy) of the Second Polish Republic was the first national parliament ( Sejm) of the newly independent Second Polish Republic. It was elected in the 1919 Polish legislative election.
The Legislative Sejm was formed in the aftermath of World War I on the territories of the newly independent Second Polish Republic. [1] In late 1918 Polish state was governed by Józef Piłsudski, who quickly begun the work to organize election to the first Polish national parliament ( Sejm) since the Grodno Sejm of 1793, held two years before partitions of Poland ended the independent existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. [1]
The elections to the Sejm took place on January 26, 1919. [1] At that time, Poland did not have fixed boundaries, and was involved in territorial conflicts and disputes. [1] On the territories under the nascent Polish state's control, in the lands of former Congress Kingdom and Podlasie region, and western Lesser Poland, 42 electoral districts returned 302 deputies. [2] In addition, 20 Polish deputies to the German Parliament, 26 Polish deputies to the Austro-Hungarian Parliament, and selected candidates from the Cieszyn region (where elections were disrupted due to hostilities) were added to the Sejm. [3] In the coming months, as the Polish control grew over some disputed territories, more elections were held: on April 25, 1919, in Greater Poland and on June 15, 1919 in the Białystok and Podlasie regions. [3] Some deputies who were provisional representatives yielded their seats to the newly elected ones. [3] On March 24, 1922, the Sejm was joined by 20 deputies from the Republic of Central Lithuania (the dissolved Sejm of Central Lithuania). [3] The Sejm thus had a changing number of deputies, starting at 348 and ending its term with 432 members. [3] About 5 million votes were cast in the election. [4]
Important legislation passed by the Sejm included laws on the military draft, land reform, and the development of a constitution, and the state-sponsored health insurance system. [5] [6] In 1921 the Sejm passed the March Constitution. [6]
Due to the changing number of deputies, and the ongoing fragmentation and merger of various parties, there is a number of different composition listings for the Legislative Sejm. [a]
The composition of the Legislative Sejm was as follows: [4] [7]
Party or group (Polish name) | Party or group (Jędruch) | Party or group (Nohlen and Stöver) | Votes (Nohlen and Stöver) | % (Nohlen and Stöver) | Seats (Nohlen and Stöver) | Seats (Jędruch) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Związek Ludowo-Narodowy | not listed | Popular National Union | 1,616,157 | 29.0 | 140 | ? |
? | National Democrats | not listed | 72 | |||
Polska Partia Socjalistyczna | Socialist | Polish Socialist Party | 515,062 | 9.2 | 35 | 34 |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Wyzwolenie" | Peasant Wyzwolenie | Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" | 839,914 | 15.1 | 59 | 24 |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Piast" | Peasant Piast | Polish People's Party "Piast" | 232,983 | 4.2 | 46 | listed with no number |
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe Lewica | not listed | Polish People's Party "Left" | 197,838 | 3.5 | 12 | |
? | not listed | Polish United Peasants' Party | 212,097 | 3.8 | 35 | |
? | not listed | Peasants' Lists | 234,399 | 4.2 | 0 | |
? | Peasants' Total | not listed | 90 | |||
? | Conservative | not listed | 44 | |||
Stronnictwo Katolicko-Ludowe | not listed | Catholic People's Party | 102,292 | 1.8 | 18 | |
? | Christian Democrats | not listed | 31 | |||
? | National Labor | not listed | 25 | |||
? | Middle Class | not listed | 63 | |||
? | Communist | not listed | 2 | |||
? | Minority (German) | National Minorities | 96,677 | 1.7 | 2 | 2 |
? | Minority (Jewish) | Jewish Group | 602,927 | 10.8 | 11 | 16 |
Narodowa Partia Pracy | not listed | National Workers' Union | 67,285 | 1.2 | 32 | |
Bezpartyjni; bez przynależności klubowej | Small parties, independents | Local lists and independents | 863,349 | 15.5 | 4 | 29 |
Total | 5,580,980 | 100 | 394 | 432 |
Marshal of the Sejm was Wojciech Trąmpczyński. [3]
Party | Seats | % |
---|---|---|
Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Piast" Polish Folk | 96 | 22,3 |
Związek Ludowo-Narodowy | 81 | 18,8 |
Narodowe Zjednoczenie Ludowe | 45 | 3,9 |
Polska Partia Socjalistyczna | 34 | 10,4 |
Narodowo-Chrześcijańskie Stronnictwo Ludowe | 26 | 6,0 |
Narodowo-Chrześcijański Klub Robotniczy | 26 | 6,0 |
Klub: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe "Wyzwolenie" | 24 | 5,6 |
Narodowa Partia Robotnicza | 21 | 4,9 |
Klub Pracy Konstytucyjnej | 16 | 3,7 |
Klub: Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe—Lewica | 11 | 2,5 |
Zjednoczenie Mieszczańskie | 11 | 2,5 |
Stronnictwo Katolicko-Ludowe | 7 | 1,6 |
Narodowa Partia Pracy (II RP) | 6 | 1,4 |
Rady Ludowe | 5 | 1,1 |
Komunistyczna Frakcja Poselska | 2 | 0,5 |
Wolne Zjednoczenie Posłów Narodowości Żydowskiej (Jews) | 10 | 2,9 |
Niemieckie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Germans) | 7 | 1,6 |
Independent | 4 | 0,9 |
Totals | 432 | 100 |
a. ^ Neither Nohlen and Stöver nor Jędruch did retain original for Polish parties and groups; they used their own translations. As such, identification with a particular entity was not always possible.