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ŁUKASZTOMCZAK
PartySysteminPoland
Summary
TearticledealswiththeproblemsconnectedwiththeevolutionofthepartysysteminPoland
aferthepoliticaltransformation.Tepaperpresentslegalregulationsconcerningtheworkingof
politicalparties,theprinciplesoftheirorganizationandfinancing.Italsodiscussesthechanges
intheelectorallawandtheirinfluenceonthepartysystem.
Tearticlediscussesthecourseandefectsofelectoralrivalry,focusingonparliamentaryelections,
assumingthattheyconstitutedthemostimportantarenaofrivalrybetweenpoliticalparties.Te
leveloffragmentation,size,representativenessandstabilityofthepartysystemwereanalysed.
Keywords:Polishpartysystem,parliamentaryelections,partysystemchange
Introduction
TetransitionofthepoliticalsysteminPolandwasvolatile.Teprocessofpoliti-
calchangestartedin1980[Jednaka1995:74].Ahugepoliticalandsocialmovement
thatwastheTradeUnion“Solidarność”(Solidarity)constitutedanalternativetothe
governmentatthetime.Teprocessoftransitionwasinterruptedbythemartial
lawandoutlawing“Solidarność”
.TepartysystematthetimeconstitutedofPolish
UnitedWorkers’Party(PUWP)(PolskaZjednoczonaPartiaRobotnicza,PZPR)and
twocooperatingparties:theUnitedPeople’sParty(ZjednoczoneStronnictwoLudowe,
ZSL)andtheAllianceofDemocrats(StronnictwoDemokratyczne,SD).Polandwas
ultimatelyaone-partystate.PUWPwasthegoverningparty,anditsdominantrole
wasincludedintheconstitution.Teroleoftheothertwopartieswasonlytocreate
animpressionofpluralism[Wojtasik2006:47],astheydidnotcompetewiththe
rulingparty,butinstead-cooperatedwithit.
TeobjectiveofthisarticleistoshowtheevolutionofthepartysysteminPoland
aferitstransitiontodemocracyand(a)topresentthechangesandcurrentlegal
basisforthefunctioningofparties;(b)tooutlinetheimplicationsofthepolitical
competition.Tefocusofthistextisontheparliamentaryelections,astheyconstitute
themostsignificantarenaforcompetitionbetweenpoliticalparties.
