System Specificity of Local Elections in Poland

Abstract

The political system transformation initiated in 1989 brought about dramatic changes in the functioning of local and regional government structures. The dimension of their political and social empowerment manifests itself through their own electoral cycle in the form of local government elections. The article is an attempt to expound the specificity of local elections in Poland. The factors behind this specificity indicate the restoration processes of local government, on-going decentralization processes, active use of mechanisms for implementing local government electoral law and the growing significance of elections at the local and regional level. These features make the local elections stand out from the parliamentary, presidential and European Parliament elections.