Poland

The Polish Senate, the upper house of Parliament, is elected at the same time as the Sejm, in 100 single-member constituencies via a single-round, single-choice, first-preference plurality (FPP) system (aka first-past-the-post). The system is typically heavily biased towards the largest parties (+ and possibly regionally strong smaller parties), and in recent years has made it practically mandatory for the parties of the two major blocs to nominate a joint candidate.

The individual suffrage is the same as in the Sejm, except that the age requirement for election to the Senate is 30 years. 

The president (head of state) is directly elected for a 5-year term in a two-round system and may be re-elected once, so the same person can be president for a maximum of 2 terms in total, i.e. 10 years (the two terms do not have to be consecutive). The first round is held via a single-choice vote and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the second round if no one receives a majority (more than half of the valid votes, 50%+) in the first round.

MEPs from Poland are elected every 5 years (at the same time as in the other EU member states). For the purposes of seat allocation, entire country forms one constituency, which is split into 13 multi-seat districts in which a total of 53 MEPs were elected in 2024. Due to "degressive proportionality", Polish voters have fewer representatives per capita than the EU average.

The main principle in the election of the Parliament (within the countries) is proportionality: by default, only a proportional system can be used, but beyond this, the member states decide for themselves what type. Poland, like most member states, uses an open-list proportional system. This means that voters can vote not only for a party list, but also for a candidate on the list, thus allowing them the chance to collectively change the predetermined order of the candidates. The allocation of seats between parties is done using the D'Hondt (Jefferson) method. The legal electoral threshold is 5%.

The minimum age for active suffrage (the right to vote) is 18 years, and for passive suffrage (standing for election) is 21 years. Voting is not compulsory, in-person voting is possible abroad (polling stations provided at the request of at least 15 voters), postal voting or proxy voting is available for some voters (particularly those above 60 years of age), however online voting is not possible. In person voting is possible on one day (a Sunday).

This is the description of the electoral system of Poland as of 11.06.2026 on Electoral Knowledgebase. Sources and further information on this topic:

• https://www.sejm.gov.pl/english/sejm/pos.htm

• https://verfassungsblog.de/how-pis-plans-to-tip-the-electoral-scales-in-its-favour/

• https://elections.europa.eu/en/how-to-vote/pl/

• 2024 European Parliament elections: National rules (European Parliament)

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