me Minister Jerzy BUZEK (since NA October
1997), Deputy Prime Ministers Leszek BALCEROWICZ (since 31 October
1997), Janusz TOMASZEWSKI (since 31 October 1997)
cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and
the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the
Sejm approves the Council of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election first round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19
November 1995 (next to be held NA November 2000); prime minister and
deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the
Sejm
election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI elected president; percent of
legislative vote, second round-Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech
WALESA 48.3%; Jerzy BUZEK selected prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie
Narodowe consists of the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a
complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year
terms) and the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a
majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Sejm elections last held 21 September 1997 (next to be held
by NA September 2001); Senate-last held 21 September 1997 (next to be
held by NA September 2001)
election results: Sejm-percent of vote by party-AWS 33.8%, SLD 27.1%,
UW 13.4%, PSL 7.3%, ROP 5.6%, German Minority 0.4%, other 12.4%; seats
by party-AWS 201, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 27, ROP 6, German Minority 2;
Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-AWS 51, SLD 28, UW
8, ROP 5, PSL 3, independents 5; note-seats by party in the Sejm as of
December 1997: AWS 200, SLD 164, UW 60, PSL 26, ROP 4, German Minority
2, other 4
note: four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German
parties

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president
on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an
indefinite period; Constitutional Tribunal, judges are chosen by the
Sejm for a 9-year term

Political parties and leaders:
post-Communist: Democratic Left Alliance or SLD (Social Democracy of
Poland) [Leszek MILLER]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Jaroslaw
KALINOWSKI]
post-Solidarity parties: Freedom Union or UW; note-Democratic Union
and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union [Leszek
BALCEROWICZ]; Christian-National Union or ZCHN [Marian PILKA]; Center
Alliance Party or PC [Jaroslaw KACZYN