In Poland, in case of a premature expiration of a senatorial term, by-elections are held to fill the vacancy. Several by-elections have been held in Polish history following the Senate's reestablishment following the fall of Communism in Poland.
The Polish Senate is composed of one hundred Senators, all elected in single-seat constituencies, in contrast to several-seat electoral districts that are used to elect the Sejm. Unlike the Sejm, for which there are no by-elections, Senate by-elections are held if a Senator's term expires prematurely. A Senate term may expire prematurely in the case of:
Even during the first term of the newly-reestablished Senate, the possibility of a Senatorial term prematurely expiring was taken into consideration. Article 16 of the electoral ordinance to the Senate declared that by-elections must be held in the event of a Senatorial term ending early.
By-elections were held in the Piotrków Voivodeship on 8 October 1989 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died of a heart attack. Biaà Âkowski, despite being elected, died before being sworn in.
By-elections were held in the Opole Voivodeship on 4 February 1990, with a runoff on 18 February 1990, to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Edmund Osmaà Âczyk's term, who died on 4 October 1989.
By-elections were held in the Lublin Voivodeship on 27 May 1990, with a runoff on 10 June 1990, to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died on 7 February 1990.
By-elections were held in Cheà Âm Voivodeship on 19 June 1994 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Tomasz Adamczuk's term, who died.
By-elections were held in ElblÃÂ g Voivodeship on 19 June 1994 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Romuald Jankowski's term, who died.
By-elections were held in Szczecin Voivodeship on 1 October 1995 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who resigned.
By-elections were held in Szczecin Voivodeship on 1 October 1995 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died.
By-elections were held in Katowice Voivodeship on 25 June 2000 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of August Cheà Âkowski's term, who had died.
By-elections were held in Katowice Voivodeship on 25 June 2000 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Marian Jurczyk's term, whose mandate was invalidated by a verdict of the , which accused him of making false lustration statements on 3 April. On 12 April, the Senate debated and voted, with 42 for, 20 against, and 12 abstentions, to recognize the revocation of Jurczyk's mandate.
By-elections were held in Wrocà Âaw Voivodeship on 25 June 2000 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Bogdan Zdrojewski's term, who resigned to maintain his position as mayor of Wrocà Âaw following a Constitutional Tribunal verdict that ruled that Senatorial and mayoral mandates could not be held simultaneously.
By-elections were held in Cheà Âm Voivodeship on 21 January 2001 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who resigned.
By-elections were held in Wrocà Âaw Voivodeship on 21 January 2001 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Leon Kieres' term, who resigned.
By-elections were held in Constituency 2 (Waà Âbrzych) on 27 April 2003 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Henryk Goà ÂÃÂbiewski's term, who was selected Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
By-elections were held in Constituency 23 (Biaà Âystok) on 12 October 2003 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who was chosen as a member of the Constitutional Tribunal. Jurgiel became the second Senator of Law and Justice after Anna Kurska, with who he formed the Law and Justice Senatorial club.
By-elections were held in Constituency 3 (Wrocà Âaw) on 28 March 2004 to fill a vacancy left by the premature of 's term, who was chosen as a member of the Monetary Policy Council.
By-elections were held in Constituency 29 (Rybnik) on 21 November 2005 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died.
By-elections were held in Constituency 36 (Konin) on 16 January 2005 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who was chosen as a member of the National Broadcasting Council.
By-elections were held in Constituency 33 (Elblàg) on 28 January 2007 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Elà ¼bieta Gelert's term, who was elected one of the city councillors of Elblàg in the 2006 local elections.
In 2010, five by-elections were held, three of which alongside the 2010 Polish presidential election as a result of the deaths of Senators Janina Fetlià Âska, Stanisà Âaw Zajàc and Krystyna Bochenek in the Smolensk air disaster.
By-elections were held in Constituency 21 (Krosno) on 22 June 2008 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Andrzej Mazurkiewicz's term, as he died as a result of a ruptured aneurysm on 21 March 2008.
By-elections were held in Constituency 15 (Pà Âock) on 20 June 2010 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Janina Fetlià Âska's term, as she died in the Smolensk air disaster. It was held concurrently to the 2010 Polish presidential election.
By-elections were held in Constituency 21 (Krosno) on 20 June 2010 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Stanisà Âaw Zajàc's term, as he died in the Smolensk air disaster. It was held concurrently to the 2010 Polish presidential election. PiS-endorsed independent Alicja Zajàc, the widow of the late incumbent, was elected with no opposition, though 18% of ballots cast were invalid. They were the second Senatorial by-elections held that term in Constituency 21.
By-elections were held in Constituency 30 (Katowice) on 20 June 2010 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Krystyna Bochenek's term, as she died in the Smolensk air disaster. It was held concurrently to the 2010 Polish presidential election.
By-elections were held in Constituency 37 (Pià Âa) on 6 February 2011 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who was elected mayor of Pià Âa in the 2010 local elections.
Henryk Stokà Âosa, long-time Senator from Pià Âa Voivodeship, who began his career in the Senate at the 1989 Polish parliamentary election as the only non-Solidarity-endorsed candidate, was running again after being unseated in 2005 Polish parliamentary election. Following the election loss, Stokà Âosa was arrested for corruption, but released on bail in December 2008. Following the resignation of Piotr Gà Âowski from the post of Senator to become mayor of Pià Âa, Stokà Âosa declared his start in the upcoming by-elections, and was the first to register. Besides him, three more parties registered candidates: PO nominated Maria Janyska, SLD nominated and PSL nominated Leszek à Âochowicz. PiS also tried to nominate a candidate but failed to gather enough signatures. In the lead up to election day, Stokà Âosa was considered a favorite, accusing the government of being in a conspiracy to deprive him of his wealth, and criticizing mainsteam politicians for "taking advantage" of the Smolensk air disaster. He ended up as the victor, winning 39.9% of the vote, being 10.34% ahead of Janyska in second place.
According to sociologist , the low turnout of only 6.31% contributed to Stokà Âosa's victory. After the election, Marshal of the Senate Bogdan Borusewicz stated that if Stokà Âosa was found guilty, he would be stripped of his Senatorial mandate. He retired from national politics and didn't run again in the regular 2011 parliamentary election, engaging instead in local politics.
By-elections were held in Constituency 73 (Rybnik) on 21 April 2013 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died.
By-elections were held in Constituency 55 (Mielec) on 8 September 2013 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who was selected Marshal of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship.
By-elections were held in Constituency 47 (Mià Âsk Mazowiecki) on 7 September 2014 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of 's term, who died on 19 May 2014.
By-elections were held in Constituency 73 (Rybnik) on 7 September 2014 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Bolesà Âaw Piecha's term, who was elected to the European Parliament.
By-elections were held in Constituency 82 (Ostrowiec à ÂwiÃÂtokrzyski) on 7 September 2014 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Beata Gosiewska's term, who was elected to the European Parliament.
By-elections were held in Constituency 75 (Tychy) on 8 February 2015 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Elà ¼bieta Bieà Âkowska's term, who was chosen as a member of the European Commission.
By-elections were held in Constituency 59 (Biaà Âystok I) on 6 March 2016 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Bohdan Paszkowski's term, who was selected Voivode of Podlasie.
By-elections were held in Constituency 13 (Wà Âocà Âawek) on 21 July 2024 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Krzysztof Kukucki's term, who was elected mayor of Wà Âocà Âawek in the 2024 local elections. The election sparked controversy in the ruling coalition as the incumbent mayor of Wà Âocà Âawek defeated by Kukucki, Marek Wojtkowski, belonged to the Civic Platform, and Kukucki to the New Left. The Senate Pact debated whether Kukucki's replacement should be a member of a party different from his own. Ultimately, the New Left was allowed to field its own candidate, , without opposition from the rest of the governing coalition. Pawlak won the election with 46.3% of valid votes.
By-elections were held in Constituency 33 (Kraków IV) on 16 March 2025 to fill a vacancy left by the premature expiration of Bogdan Klich's term, who resigned from office to assume a diplomatic post. The Confederation's candidate, Adam Berkowicz, was the father of Konrad Berkowicz. Monika Piàtkowska of the Civic Coalition won the election, successfully holding the seat for her party. At the same time, her margin was lower than Klich's by 20 percentage points despite the seat being a stronghold of the Civic Coalition. Political observers called the outcome a "bittersweet victory" for the Civic Coalition, and attributed the underwhelming margin to competition from the Together Party, the refusal of Poland 2050, a coalition partner of Civic Coalition, to endorse Piàtkowska, as well as the fact that Piàtkowska is not well-known in Kraków, and was nominated by the party leadership contrary to the wishes of the party's local branch.
Turnout in Senate by-elections tends to be low, frequently falling under 7%. Between 1989 and 2014, the average turnout of Senate by-elections was 13.94%. Turnout also tends to be higher when by-elections are held alongside regular elections, and turnout for by-elections only neared 50% (reaching 47%, 49%, 53% in three constituencies respectively) when held alongside the 2010 Presidential election. In contrast to the apathy expressed in by-elections by the populace, political parties show high interest in them. By-elections tend to show trends in political support; however they are often flawed as a political barometer. Costs of by-elections vary within the range of a half to two million zà Âoty.