Chamber:
	Senat
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	27 October 1991
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body. General elections had previously been held in June 1989.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The election date was announced on 3 July 1991 and the campaign lasted from the next day until 26 October. As opposed to the previous (June 1989) general elections, when polling was based on an agreement that only a limited number of seats would be freely contested., all parliamentary seats in 1991, for the first time since World War II, were open to any contender. As a result, a multitude of parties fielded for 6,000 candidates for the two Houses. Major groups included the centre-left Democratic Union by former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the Democratic Left Alliance made up of former Communists, three Solidarity (trade-union movement) splinter parties and three Catholic groups. During the generally peaceful campaign, most contestants advocated development of a market economy and further privatisation, and emphasized protection of health, the environment and development of housing. But the main parties differed on the pace of economic reforms in the face of lingering problems such as unemployment, inflation and foreign debt. Polling day was marked by a low turnout, which observers varyingly attributed to the complex electoral law and the bewildering array of parties. Final results ushered in a fragmented legislature - 29 parties in the Sejm, with the leading one (Democratic Union) obtaining 62 seats and 12.3 % of the popular vote; only 113 of the 460 members had served previously. In this context, formation of a new Government took several weeks, during which outgoing Prime Minister J.K. Bielecki (Liberal Democratic Congress) continued in a caretaker capacity. Finally, on 5 December, President of the Republic Lech Walesa nominated Mr. Jan Olszewski (POC), leader of a five-party centre-right coalition in the Sejm, as Prime Minister. He heads a coalition Council of Ministers, approved on 23 December.

STATISTICS

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates
Democratic Union	77
Solidarity Trade Union	30
Centre Citizens’ Alliance	60
Catholic Electoral Election	40
Polish Peasant Party “Programme Alliance”	64
People’s Alliance	31
Liberal Democratic Congress	31
Democratic Left Alliance	73
Confederation for an Independent Poland	23
Christian Democracy	9
Other parties	27
Independents	22

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Democratic Union	21
Solidarity Trade Union	11
Centre Citizens’ Alliance	10
Catholic Electoral Election	9
Polish Peasant Party “Programme Alliance”	8
People’s Alliance	7
Liberal Democratic Congress	6
Democratic Left Alliance	4
Confederation for an Independent Poland	4
Christian Democracy	3
Other parties	10
Independents	7

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	92
Women:	8

Distribution of seats according to age:
30-39 years	18
49-49 years	38
50-59 years	22
60-69 years	20
70-79 years	2
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Academic/teaching sector	15
Farmers	12
Physicians	17
Lawyers	20
Engineers	23*
Technicians	23*
Economists	4
Journalists	4
Businessmen	4
Others	1

Comments:
	* 23 : total of engineers and technicians together.