1997 Polish parliamentary election

Polish parliamentary election, 1997

21 September 1997
All 460 seats in the Sejm 231 seats were needed for a majority in the Sejm All 100 seats in the Senate
Turnout	47.9%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jerzy Buzek Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Leszek Balcerowicz Party AWS Democratic Left Alliance UW Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM April 2005 Leader's seat Gliwice Białystok Katowice Last election Did not exist 171 seats, 20.4% 74 seats, 14.6%* Seats won 201 164 60 Seat change 201 7 14 Popular vote 4,427,373 3,551,224 1,749,518 Percentage 33.8% 27.1% 13.4% Swing 33.8% 6.7% 1.2%*   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Waldemar Pawlak Jan Olszewski Ryszard Bugaj Party PSL ROP UP Leader since 29 June 1991 18 November 1995 1992 Leader's seat Płock Warsaw Warsaw Last election 132 seats, 15.4% Did not exist 41 seats, 7.3% Seats won 27 6 0 Seat change 105 6 41 Popular vote 956,184 727,072 620,611 Percentage 7.3% 5.6% 4.7% Swing 8.1% 5.6% 2.6%   Seventh party   Leader Henryk Kroll Party KWMN Leader since 1991 Leader's seat Opole Last election 4 seats, 0.7% Seats won 2 Seat change 2 Popular vote 51,027 Percentage 0.4% Swing 0.3%
Voivodeships with winning majority ■ – Solidarity Electoral Action ■ – Democratic Left Alliance *As the sum of the UW's constituent parties, the Democratic Union and the Liberal Democratic Congress.
Prime Minister before election Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Democratic Left Alliance New Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek AWS

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 September 1997. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid. In the Senate elections, 46.92% of citizens cast their votes, 97.82% of which were valid.

The election was won by the liberal conservative party Solidarity Electoral Action. It formed a coalition with the Freedom Union, a liberal party. The election was a major setback for the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish People's Party who were forced out of government.

Results

Party	Sejm				Senate
	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Solidarity Electoral Action	4,427,373	33.8	201	New	6,550,176	49.2	51	New
Democratic Left Alliance	3,551,224	27.1	164	–7	6,091,721	45.7	28	–9
Freedom Union	1,749,518	13.4	60	–14	2,943,527	22.1	8	+4
Polish People's Party	956,184	7.3	27	–105	1,819,176	13.7	3	–33
Movement for Reconstruction of Poland	727,072	5.6	6	New	2,553,252	19.2	5	New
Labour Union	620,611	4.7	0	–41	520,130	3.9	0	0
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners	284,826	2.2	0	New	1,112,129	8.4	0	New
Real Politics Union	266,317	2.0	0	0	550,254	4.1	0	0
National Party of Retirees and Pensioners–Polish Republic	212,826	1.6	0	New	–	–	–	–
National Christian Bloc for Poland	178,395	1.4	0	New	–	–	–	–
German Minority TS-KNSO	51,027	0.4	2	–4	–	–	–	–
TSKNWk[a]	16,724	0.1	0	–	–	–	–	–
Słowiańska MN RP-Prawosławni	13,632	0.1	0	–	–	–	–	–
Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland	10,073	0.1	0	0	–	–	–	–
Polska Wspólnota Narodowa PSN	8,590	0.1	0	–	–	–	–	–
TSKNWC[b]	6,206	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
MN "Pojednanie i Przyszlość"	3,663	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
MN Województwa Olsztyńskiego	1,729	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Niezależna i bezpartyjna	924	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Sojusz Ludzi "Polska, Praca, Sprawiedliwość"	703	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Stow. MN Województwa Elbląskiego	614	0.0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Local lists	–	–	–	–	3,804,084	28.6	5	–5
Invalid/blank votes	528,147	–	–	–	269,149	–	–	–
Total	13,616,378	100	460	0	13,614,101	100	100	0
Registered voters/turnout	28,409,054	47.9	–	–	28,409,054	47.9	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

^a Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Niemców Województwa Katowickiego

^b Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Niemców Województwa Częstochowskiego

• 
  Distribution of seat in the Sejm
• 
  Distribution of seat in the Senate

References

• Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dn. 25 IX 1997 r., Monitor Polski. Nr 64, poz. 620
• Obwieszczenie PKW z dn. 25 IX 1997 r., M.P. Nr 64, poz. 621