Chapter 13

1. The seat of a deputy to the Sejm shall become vacant as a result of:

2. A vacancy in a seat of a deputy to the Sejm shall be pronounced by the Marshal of the Sejm.

3. The seat of a deputy who, on the day of the election, held any office referred to in para. 1 subpara. 5, shall be declared vacant unless he produces to the Marshal of Sejm, within a time-limit of 7 days of the day of issue of the certificate of election referred to in Article 122, a statement of resignation from the office held. The seat of a deputy to the Sejm who, during the term of office of the Sejm, has been appointed to an office referred to in para. 1 subpara. 5, shall become vacant on the day of such appointment.

1. In the event of a vacancy in the seat of a deputy to the Sejm elected from a constituency list of candidates, the Marshal of the Sejm shall approve the accession to his place by a candidate from the same list who obtained the next highest number of votes in the elections. In the case of an identical numbers of votes, priority shall be decided according to the order of placing of a candidate on the constituency list.

2. A candidate may relinquish his priority in respect of a vacant seat in favour of a candidate from the same list who has obtained the next highest number of votes. A statement of surrender of such priority shall be served upon the Marshal of the Sejm within 7 days of the delivery of the decision referred to in para. 1.

3. If filling a vacancy in the seat of a deputy to the Sejm, pursuant to the procedure specified in paras. 1 and 2, would be impossible owing to the lack of candidates to whom a vacant seat could be allotted, that seat shall be vacant until the end of term of office of the Sejm.

4. In the case of a vacancy in a seat of the deputy to Sejm elected from the national list of candidates, the provisions of paras. 1 to 3 shall be applied accordingly, provided that priority in taking a seat shall be decided according to the order in which candidates were placed on the list.

Chapter 14

The election campaign shall begin on the day of proclamation of the President's order on elections, and shall end 24 hours before the polling day.

The provisions of this Act shall not be construed, so as to infringe the duty of mass media to furnish during the election campaign reliable information about events and developments in the country and abroad.

1. Voters' assemblies organized for the purpose of collecting signatures in support of lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm and voters' assemblies convened and held within the context of the election campaign in favour of lists and candidates for deputies to the Sejm shall not be subject to the provisions of the Act of 5th July 1990 - the Law on Assemblies (Dziennik Ustaw, No. 51, item 297).

2. Any voter may collect signatures in support of submission of lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm and may disseminate election programmes, canvass in favour of lists and candidates and organize election rallies.

3. The signatures in support of a submission, referred to in para. 2, may be collected in such places, at such time and in such a manner as to exclude the possibility of any pressure being used for obtaining the signatures.

From the 12th day before the election day until the end of elections it shall be forbidden to announce the outcomes of pre-election surveys (public opinion polls) on probable voting behaviour and election results, as well as the results of election opinion polls conducted on the polling day.

1. All election posters, inscriptions (slogans) or leaflets bearing clear indication of their origin or indicating by whom they were posted up, shall be protected by law.

2. Affixing election posters shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 63a of the Misdemeanour Code.

1. Election posters and slogans may be affixed to the walls of buildings and fences only with the consent of the owner or administrator of the property.

2. It shall be forbidden to affix election posters and slogans to the interior and exterior walls of buildings of government and local-government administration and courts, and also within the areas of military units, civil defence units and quartered police units.

3. The council of a commune may forbid affixing election posters and slogans on some public buildings or in some defined parts of public areas by reason of protection of historical monuments or environmental protection.

4. The installation of announcing devices for the needs of the election campaign shall be performed in compliance with the existing provisions regarding maintenance of public order. The provisions of Article 137 shall apply accordingly.

5. Posters shall be affixed in such a way as to make possible their removal without causing damage.

6. The police (city guard) shall be under a duty to remove posters and slogans affixed in such a way as to threaten the life or health of the populace, the security of property or the safety of road traffic.

7. Posters, election slogans and announcing devices installed for the purpose of election campaign shall be removed by the appropriate election committees within a period of 30 days following the election day.

8. The executive committee of a commune shall order the removal of election posters, slogans and announcing devices that have not been removed within the time-limit referred to in para. 7. Any such removal shall be performed at the expense of the election committees concerned.

1. If posters, slogans, leaflets, announcements or other forms of election propaganda and agitation shall contain false details and information, any concerned person shall have the right to petition the voivodship court for:

1) the confiscation of such materials;

2) the prohibition of publication of such details and information;

3) an order to rectify the information;

4) an order to apologize the to person libelled;

5) an order that a participant pay a sum of 2,000 zloty to a charitable institution;

6) an adjudication that a participant pay up to 2,000 zloty compensation.

2. The voivodship court, by a bench of 3 judges, shall examine a petition referred to in para. 1 within 24 hours, in non-litigious proceedings. The court may examine the case in the event of reasonable absence of the plaintiff or a participant in the proceedings, who have been notified pursuant to the rules about the time of the trial. A ruling which terminates the proceedings in the case shall be immediately served by the court on the person concerned referred to in para. 1, on the appropriate constituency electoral commission and on the person under a duty to observe the court's ruling. Within 24 hours any such ruling of the voivodship court may be subject to appeal to the court of appeal which shall be obliged to examine it within 24 hours. There shall be no legal recourse against the ruling of the court of appeal and it shall be subject to immediate execution.

3. False details or information on the elections and related to the election campaign, published in press shall be subject to rectification within 48 hours.

4. The court shall, in respect of rectification of details or information published in press publication other than a daily newspaper, indicate the daily newspaper in which the rectification must be published, at the expense of the person so obliged, within 48 hours.

5. In the event of a refusal or failure to publish such rectification by a person so obliged or any person indicated in the court's ruling, the court shall order, on the concerned person's request, that the publication of rectification be enforced by a writ of execution, at the expense of the relevant person.

6. The provisions of Article 133 shall not apply to matters referred to in paras. 1 to 5.

1. It shall be forbidden to carry out election campaigning in work places and public institutions in a way and by methods disturbing their ordinary functioning.

2. It shall be forbidden to carry out election campaigning in the areas of military units and other units subordinated to the Minister of National Defence, and in civil defence units as well as in quartered police units.

It shall be forbidden to organize marches and demonstrations on the election day.

1. During the period between the 15th day before the election day and the day ending the election campaign the "Polish Television Joint-stock Company" and the "Polish Radio Joint-stock Company", hereinafter called "Polish Television" and "Polish Radio" shall broadcast, without payment, the election programmes prepared by election committees, pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

2. An election committee shall have the right to broadcasting of its election programmes without payment on:

3. The total length of time of broadcasts without payment of election programmes shall amount to:

4. The boards of companies referred to in para. 1, having taken into account the opinion of the appropriate programming council, shall determine:

5. Information about the above-mentioned decisions shall be made public in the form of a communiqué publicized in a daily newspaper with nationwide circulation, no later than the 30th day before the election day.

1. Persons responsible for the management of production of the appropriate nationwide television and radio broadcasts shall determine the allotment of time, without payment, assigned for the broadcasting of the election programmes of election committees, referred to in Article 142, para. 2 subpara. 1, dividing such time allocated into equal parts amongst the election committees so entitled, on the basis of information supplied by the National Electoral Commission concerning the registered lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm.

2. The sequence of broadcasting of the election programmes for each day shall be determined no later than the 18th day before the election day by persons responsible for management of production of the broadcast, referred to in para. 1, by random selection in the presence of the agents of those election committees so entitled.

1. The directors of local branches of Polish Television and the boards of regional radio broadcasting companies shall conduct the allocation of time assigned for broadcasting of the election programmes of election committees without payment, referred to in Article 142, para. 2 subpara. 2, distributing such units of time to those election committees entitled, in proportion to the numbers of constituency lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm registered by them, on the basis of information about the registered constituency lists provided by the constituency electoral commissions territorially competent for the area covered by a regional channel.

2. The provisions of Article 143, para. 2 shall apply accordingly.

1. Notwithstanding the length of time allotted for the broadcast of the election programmes, without payment, each election committee may broadcast, between the 15th day before the election day and the day ending the election campaign only, paid election programmes by means of public and non-public radio and television broadcasters. The total time of paid programmes cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total time allocated to a particular election committee for its broadcast of election programmes without payment.

2. Broadcasters shall not refuse to broadcast the paid election programmes referred to in para. 1.

3. Rates charged for the broadcast time of the election programmes referred to in para. 1 cannot exceed 50 per cent of the rates charged for commercials and they shall be identical for each user and shall be fixed in accordance with the price list in force on the day of proclamation of elections.

4. The rules concerning advertisement activity in television and radio broadcasts, subject to the provision of para. 5, shall apply to the programmes referred to in para. 1.

5. The time assigned for broadcast of paid election programmes shall not be subject to the time limits for commercials, established by other regulations.

An agent of an election committee may appeal to the National Electoral Commission, against the decisions referred to in Article 143, para. 1 and Article 144, para. 1 within 48 hours after their issue. There shall be no legal recourse against the decision of the National Electoral Commission.

Election information, communiqués appeals and slogans announced in the press (in printed form or on television or radio) at the expense of an election committee, political party or other social organization supporting the lists of candidates for deputies to the Sejm, and at the expense of candidates themselves, shall include an indication by whom they are paid and shall fulfill the requirements provided for in Article 137, para. 1.

Matters related to carrying out of election campaign in television and radio broadcasts, which are not subject to the provisions of this Act, shall be governed by the provisions of the Act of 29 December 1992 on Radio Broadcasting and Television (Dziennik Ustaw of 1993, No. 7, item 34).

The exercise of rights under this Act shall not prevent any injured party from bringing an action, under other statutes, including the Criminal Code, the Civil Code and the Press Law, against persons, whose acts or omissions during electoral campaign have infringed his personal or property rights.