Chapter 1

1. The election of deputies to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland shall be universal, direct, equal and proportional and shall be held by secret ballot.

2. The day of elections shall be a day which is not a day of work, within the month prior to the expiry of the term of office of the Sejm, or - in the event of a dissolution of the Sejm - a non-working day, no sooner than 3 months and no later than 4 months after the expiry of the term of office of the Sejm.

Deputies shall be elected to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on the basis of proportionality, in the following manner:

1. Only those constituency lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm, which have gained at least 5 per cent of the total number of votes validly cast throughout the entire country shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats.

2. Constituency lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm proposed by election committees, as referred to in Article 77, para. 2 (election coalition), shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats only if they have gained at least 8 per cent of the total number of votes validly cast throughout the entire country.

Only the lists of those election committees whose constituency lists of candidates have gained at least 7 per cent of the total number of votes validly cast throughout the country, shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats among national lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm.

1. The election committees of registered organizations of national minorities shall have the right to exempt their lists from one of the requirements specified in Article 3, para. 1 or Article 4, if they have made a relevant declaration to the National Electoral Commission no later than 5 days before the day of elections.

2. The National Electoral Commission shall immediately acknowledge the receipt of any such declaration, as referred to in para. 1. Electoral commissions shall be bound by any such declaration.

If none of the constituency lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm, proposed by each election committee, shall have fulfilled the requirements specified in Article 3, para. 1 or 2, or one of the said requirements shall have been fulfilled by lists of candidates of only one election committee, the lists of candidates which have gained at least 3 per cent of the total number of votes validly cast throughout the entire country shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats in constituencies. The lists of election coalitions shall be taken into account provided that they shall have gained at least 5 per cent of votes validly cast throughout the entire country.

1. In the event that the national lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm of all election committees shall have failed to fulfil the requirement specified in Article 4, then, only the lists of the three election committees whose constituency lists, fulfilling the requirements specified in Article 3 or Article 6, respectively, have sequentially gained the highest number of votes validly cast throughout the entire country, shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats.

2. In the event of fulfillment of the requirements specified in Article 3 or Article 6, respectively, by the national lists of less than three election committees, then, only the national lists of candidates of those committees shall be taken into account in the allocation of seats.

Each voter shall have one vote.

The term of office of the Sejm shall be four years, beginning with the day of the elections.

1. The President of the Republic of Poland shall order the elections and shall specify their date according to Article 1, para. 2. The President's order shall be made publicly known and announced in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland [Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej] no later than 5 days after the proclamation of the elections.

2. The President, after having taken the opinion of the National Electoral Commission, shall, in the order referred to in para. 1, specify the days on which the time-limits for performance of those activities provided for in this Act (the calendar of elections) expire.

1. In the event of dissolution of the Sejm, by the President or by resolution of the Sejm, the President, no later than the 5th day after the announcement of the decision to dissolve the Sejm, shall order the election of a Sejm and shall specify its date according to Article 1, para. 2. The President's order shall be made publicly known and announced in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland [Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej] no later than the 5th day after the proclamation of elections.

2. The provisions of Article 10, para. 2 shall apply accordingly.