Polish electoral system to self local government – changes and effects

Abstract

Poland as a young democracy is supported by extensive experience of mature democratic systems. Poland is still seeking reasonable and effective solutions regarding its electoral system. The right for electing the representatives of authority bodies is one of the fundamentals of democracy. This right entitles citizens for active public participation through expressing their support (votes) for candidates, which will respectively represent their voters in certain institutions. Polish electoral law, which regulates the local self-government elections is very controversial. The existing legal rules have been changed many times since 2011. Among the subjects being discussed are electoral campaigns, and candidate registration rules and organization of elections. Frequent changes in the electoral law result in misunderstandings and an unwillingness to participate in elections. Their effect is low voter turnout and a large number of invalid votes. Regardless of the above, it is worth to consider, why the Electoral Code was prepared so chaotically and without any further discussion? Why before the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament and municipalities planned for 2014 it was not possible to be assured about the electoral regulations, which were the subject of numerous changes?