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Voivodeship sejmik

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The West Pomeranian Regional Assembly meeting in Szczecin.

A voivodeship sejmik (Polish: sejmik województwa), also known as a provincial or regional assembly, is the regional-level elected legislature for each of the sixteen voivodeships of Poland.[1] Sejmiks are elected to five-year terms,[2] decided during nationwide local elections. The size of the legislative assembly varies for each voivodeship depending on the population, ranging from 30 members in lower populated provinces to 51 members in the most populous one. Elected representatives of an assembly are known as councillors (radni).

Origins[edit]

The word sejmik is a diminutive of sejm, a historical term for an assembly of nobles, and is now the name of the lower house of the Polish National Assembly. The word sejmik was consciously chosen by lawmakers during regional reorganization reforms in the 1990s to eliminate the term rada wojewódzka (voivodeship council), as the definition conjured memories of people's councils during the communist People's Republic of Poland era.[3] Initially, elected regional assemblies were created by the government of Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki under his administration's decentralization programme, with the regional assemblies acting as advisory bodies to the centrally-appointed voivode.[4][5] Under the administration of Jerzy Buzek in 1998, the contemporary regional assemblies were created by the Sejm with the reorganization of provincial borders and the devolution of powers to the governments of the new voivodeships.[6]

Elections[edit]

Assemblies are elected for a five-year term during nationwide local elections. Similar to nationwide elections for Sejm members, councillors for provincial assemblies are elected from party lists using proportional representation within a five percent voting threshold for each individual voivodeship.[7] Following their election and swearing-in, the councillors of an assembly elect a voivodeship marshal (marszałek województwa) and at most two vice-marshals from among their ranks, who, along with normally two other members, will form an executive board (zarząd województwa).[8] The board acts as the collective executive body of the voivodeship, and is the province's de facto cabinet.[9] The assembly additionally elects a chairman and deputy chairmen from among their ranks, who are tasked in organizing the assembly's business and presiding over debates.[10] If the assembly fails to elect an executive board within three months following an election, the legislature must dissolve itself and the voivodeship is obliged to call another election.[11] Earlier elections can also be approved in the event of a public referendum or if the Sejm has dissolved a regional assembly.[12]

Powers[edit]

Provincial assemblies can debate, adopt and pass statutes on matters concerning the province which are not reserved for the administration of the central government. Since the end of the 1990s, the powers of the sejmiks and their respective executive boards have grown. These include matters such as economic development strategies, spatial management plans, managing provincially-controlled rail operators, waste and water management, environmental protection, regional heritage protection, voting on the provincial budget, and appointing a supervisory board to manage voivodeship roads.[13][14][15] However, sejmiks are unable to enact provincewide taxes to fund internal policies and projects, and remain dependent on the central government for financing such operations.[15]

Throughout its elected term, the assembly reserves the right to hold the marshal and the executive board accountable for their policies.[1] Assemblies can also dismiss the governing marshal upon a three-fifths majority vote of no confidence, after which results in the collapse of the executive board, and a new marshal and board are chosen.[16] Assemblies do not, on the other hand, have a say in the choice nor dismissal of the centrally-appointed voivode for the province.

Assemblies are assisted by the voivodeship marshal's office (urząd marszałkowski), which provides legal, technical, and bureaucratic services to the body.[17]

List[edit]

Sejmik Location Number of members Voivodeship marshal
(head of the voivodeship executive board) 		Sejmik chairperson
Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik Wrocław 36 Paweł Gancarz (PSL) Jerzy Pokój (KO)
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Toruń 30 Piotr Całbecki (KO) Elżbieta Piniewska (KO)
Lublin Voivodeship Sejmik Lublin 33 Jarosław Stawiarski (PiS) Mieczysław Ryba (PiS)
Lubusz Voivodeship Sejmik Zielona Góra 30 Marcin Jałoński (KO) Anna Synowiec(PO)
Łódź Voivodeship Sejmik Łódź 33 Joanna Skrzydlewska (PO) Małgorzata Grabarczyk (PO)
Lesser Poland Voivodeship Sejmik Kraków 39 Witold Kozłowski (PiS) Jan Duda (PiS)
Masovian Voivodeship Sejmik Warszawa 51 Adam Struzik (PSL) Ludwik Rakowski (KO)
Opole Voivodeship Sejmik Opole 30 Szymon Ogłaza (KO) Rafał Bartek (MN)
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Sejmik Rzeszów 33 Władysław Ortyl (PiS) Jerzy Borcz (PiS)
Podlaskie Voivodeship Sejmik Białystok 30 Łukasz Prokorym (PO) Cezary Cieślukowski (PSL)
Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Gdańsk 33 Mieczysław Struk (KO) Jan Kleinszmidt (KO)
Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik Katowice 45 Wojciech Saługa (PO) Jacek Jarco (PL2050)
Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Sejmik Kielce 30 Renata Janik (ONRP) Andrzej Bętkowski (PiS)
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Sejmik Olsztyn 30 Marcin Kuchciński (PO) Bogdan Bartnicki (TD)
Greater Poland Voivodeship Sejmik Poznań 39 Marek Woźniak (KO) Małgorzata Waszak-Klepka (KO)
West Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik Szczecin 30 Olgierd Geblewicz (KO) Teresa Kalina (KO)

Current composition (2024 elections)[edit]

Sejmik Majority Law and Justice Civic Coalition Third Way The Left Confederation & BS Bezpartyjni Samorządowcy German Minority OK Self-Government
Lower Silesia TD-BS-KO
13 / 36
15 / 36
4 / 36
1 / 36
3 / 36
Kuyavia-Pomerania KO-TD
11 / 30
14 / 30
5 / 30
Lublin PiS
21 / 33
6 / 33
5 / 33
1 / 33
Lubusz KO-TD
10 / 30
14 / 30
6 / 30
Łódź KO-TD-L
16 / 33
12 / 33
4 / 33
1 / 33
Lesser Poland PiS
21 / 39
12 / 39
6 / 39
Masovia KO-PSL
20 / 51
20 / 51
8 / 51
1 / 51
1 / 51
Opole KO-MN-PSL
10 / 30
14 / 30
1 / 30
5 / 30
Subcarpathia PiS
21 / 33
6 / 33
4 / 33
2 / 33
Podlaskie KO-TD[a]
15 / 30
8 / 30
6 / 30
1 / 30
Pomerania KO
10 / 33
20 / 33
3 / 33
Silesia KO-TD-L
18 / 45
20 / 45
5 / 45
2 / 45
Świętokrzyskie PiS
16 / 30
6 / 30
7 / 30
1 / 30
Warmian-Masurian KO-TD
11 / 30
13 / 30
6 / 30
Greater Poland KO-TD-L
15 / 39
15 / 39
7 / 39
2 / 39
West Pomeranian KO-TD-L
10 / 30
15 / 30
3 / 30
1 / 30
1 / 30
Total
238 / 552
210 / 552
80 / 552
8 / 552
6 / 552
3 / 552
5 / 552
1 / 552

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Supported by two Law and Justice councillors: Wiesława Burnos and Marek Malinowski.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Machnikowski et al., p. 21
  2. ^ (in the years 1998-2017, the term lasted 4 years)
  3. ^ Regulski, p. 46
  4. ^ Ochman, p. 16
  5. ^ Surazska, p. 87
  6. ^ Tatur, pp. 65-66
  7. ^ Council of Europe, p. 14
  8. ^ Prokop, p. 144
  9. ^ Prokop, p. 139
  10. ^ Prokop, p. 142
  11. ^ Prokop, pp. 141-142
  12. ^ Prokop, p. 141
  13. ^ "The regional level (voivodeship)". Akademie für Raumforschung und Landesplanung. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Dz.U. 2007 nr 19 poz. 115". Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych. Sejm. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b OECD, p. 256
  16. ^ Council of Europe, p. 17
  17. ^ "Samorząd województwa - informacje ogólne". Portal Informacyjny Województwa Podlaskiego. Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Podlaskiego. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Sensacja na Podlasiu. Prawo i Sprawiedliwość traci władzę". wiadomosci.onet.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-05-07.

Works cited[edit]

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