2007 Polish parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 21 October 2007, after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September. The election took place two years before the maximum tenure of four years, with the previous elections having been in September 2005. The early elections were a result of serious allegations of massive corruption on the part of Andrzej Lepper, leader of the Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland, whose party served as a junior coalition partner to the government of Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. All 460 seats in the Sejm and all 100 seats in the Senate were up for election.

2007 Polish parliamentary election
21 October 2007
All 460 seats to the Sejm
231 seats were needed for a majority in the Sejm
All 100 seats to the Senate of Poland
Opinion polls
Turnout18,678,457 (53.82%) (Sejm)
16,475,672 (53.81%) (Senate)
53.88% 13.31%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Donald Tusk Jarosław Kaczyński
Party PO PiS
Leader since 1 June 2003 18 January 2003
Leader's seat 19 – Warsaw I 19 – Warsaw I
Last election 133 seats, 24.1% 155 seats, 27%
Seats before 131 151
Seats won 209 166
Seat change 78 15
Popular vote 6,701,010 5,183,477
Percentage 41.5% 32.1%
Swing 17.4% 5.1%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski Waldemar Pawlak
Party LiD PSL
Leader since 9 September 2007 29 January 2005
Leader's seat Did not stand 16 – Płock
Last election 55 seats, 17.6%* 25 seats, 7%
Seats before 55 27
Seats won 53 31
Seat change 2 4
Popular vote 2,122,981 1,437,638
Percentage 13.2% 8.9%
Swing 4.4%* 1.9%
Seats won by Sejm District
Government before election

Kaczyński cabinet
PiS

 Government after election

First Tusk cabinet
PO—PSL

Politics of Poland
Government
Legislature
  • Parliament of Poland

  • Sejm
  • Marshal Szymon Hołownia (PL2050)

  • Senate
  • Marshal Małgorzata Maria Kidawa- Błońska (PO)
Executive
  • President of Poland

  • Prime Minister of Poland
Judiciary
  • Supreme Court of Poland
  • First President Małgorzata Manowska
  • Supreme Administrative Court
  • State Tribunal
Elections
  • Local
  • Referendums
Political parties
  • Major political parties
  • Other parties
Administrative divisions
  • Voivodeship
    • voivodes
    • marshals
  • Counties (powiat)
  • Communes (gmina)
  • Cities and towns
Foreign relations
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Minister: Zbigniew Rau
  • Diplomatic missions of / in Poland
  • Ambassadors
Related topics
  • Other countries

The election was won by the largest opposition group, Civic Platform (PO), which soundly defeated the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and its allies. Throughout the campaign, polls showed conflicting results as to which of the two parties had the greater support, yet by the closing week the polls had swung in favour of Civic Platform. Three other political groups won election into the Sejm, the centre-left Left and Democrats coalition, the agrarian Polish People's Party, and the tiny German Minority group. Both of Law and Justice's former minor coalition partners, the League of Polish Families and the Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland suffered an enormous voter backlash, failing to cross the 5% electoral threshold in order to enter the Sejm. Consequently, both parties lost all of their seats.

Prime Minister and PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński stepped down from office on 15 November, with Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk sworn in as Poland's Prime Minister on the following day. Civic Platform consequently formed a coalition majority government with the Polish People's Party.

The turnout for the elections was 53.8%, an increase of 13.2% from the 2005 elections, seeing the highest voter turnout in a Polish parliamentary election since the semi-free elections of 1989.

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