Lista państwowa w prawie wyborczym II RP
National list of candidate in the electoral law of the second Republic of Poland

Summary/Abstract: In the Polish electoral law different mechanisms were applied, which allowed to distribute some seats among candidates on the lists submitted by political parties for the entire state. Such mechanisms were applied in parallel with the election of candidates in constituencies. In the Second Republic of Poland it was the national list, in the Polish People’s Republic it was the country list and in the Third Republic of Poland - the nationwide list.These mechanisms aroused a great controversy and much criticism was formulated by the representatives of the doctrine of electoral law, politicians and voters. Nevertheless, for several decades, under different political systems, the lists were a very important element of the Polish electoral law.The article presents the problem of the national list in the electoral law of the Second Republic of Poland. The institution served as a kind of a model for the lists adopted later- the country list and the nationwide list. In the article, the institution of the national list is thoroughly analyzed from the legal point of view, which also includes the constitutional context and the circumstances of its introduction. The attention is also paid to the electoral practice. The research has shown that the list was implemented in order to further strengthen the strong political groups, and to ensure receiving mandates by candidates who were particularly important for the functioning of the parliamentary political parties.These functions distinguished the Polish solution from similar institutions applied in other European countries (the purpose of which was to distribute the ,,remained” votes). The Author also presents the debate over changes in the Polish electoral law that took place in the late twenties and thirties of the twentieth century, which led to the dismantling of the national lists.

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