The political consequences of changing the election formula and restrictions on standing for elections – the case of the elections to councils of large and medium-sized cities in the Lower Silesian Voivodship in 2014 and 2018

The main aim of the article is to analyze the relationship between the structure of political rivalry and the solutions adopted under the amendment to the Electoral Code of 2018. The author uses several research methods (system analysis, content analysis, comparative analysis, indexing methods) in order to test the hypothesis according to which the change in the structure of political rivalry in the large and medium-sized cities in the Lower Silesia Voivoideship observed in 2018 is a consequence of: (1) the change in the current election formula, i.e. the introduction of a proportional electoral system in cities that are not cities with poviat rights, and (2) restrictions related to standing for election to legislative authority. The multifactorial analysis of the results of local government elections illustrates the actual scope of changes in the structure of political rivalry.

The Constitutional Principle of Proportionality in the Choice of the Size of the Constituency and the Method of Distributing Seats. Simulation of Changes in Parameters in the Elections to the Polish Sejm

The aim of this article is to, on the basis of the case study of Polish elections to the Sejm, answer the question of which factor has a greater impact on the increase in the proportionality of the electoral system - the minimization of the number of constituencies or the change in the method. In order to do it, the Authors specified the results of six elections to the Sejm in the years 2005-2019 and the value of the proportionality index in two simulation versions. In the first one, the number of constituencies was limited from 41 to 16. In the second, the method of determining the result was changed from D’Hondt into modified Sainte Lague. The results were relatively surprising.