The Right to Participate in Elections to Representative Bodies in Constitutional Work of the Sejm of the 2nd Term from 31 October 1928 to 6 February 1929 Cover Image

Problematyka prawa wyborczego do ciał przedstawicielskich w pracach ustrojowych Sejmu II kadencji w okresie od 31 października 1928 r. do 6 lutego 1929 r.
The Right to Participate in Elections to Representative Bodies in Constitutional Work of the Sejm of the 2nd Term from 31 October 1928 to 6 February 1929

Author(s): Kamil Kacperski
Subject(s): Constitutional Law
Published by: Kancelaria Sejmu
Keywords: draft; revision; constitutional system; elections; electoral law; electoral system; the Sejm of the 2nd term; March Constitution; supporters of Piłsudski; Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Gov

Summary/Abstract: The process of changing the Constitution of March 17, 1921 was launched in the Sejm of the 2nd term on 31 October 1928. On that day, Walery Sławek, president of the Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR), proposed that the Board adopted a resolution to initiate the revision of the basic law. This issue has become the subject of the debate, fi rst, at the Constitutional Committee (November–December 1928) and, then, in the plenary session of the Sejm (January 1929). During this period, the Deputies discussed and voted the procedures for the intended reform of the system of government. The decisions taken have acted as a catalyst for further legislative work. As a consequence, on 6 February 1929., BBWR submitted to the Sejm a draft revision of the March Constitution. The solutions contained therein, even if important, did not affect the basic mechanisms of creation of the Sejm and the Senate. Their scope and extent were limited, and the changes proposed point by point. The criticized principle of equal suffrage has not been deconstitutionalized. The concept of completing the composition of the Senate with the President’s appointees increased the ability to influence the functioning of parliament by the executive branch. However, in the face of radical proposals formulated by the Sanacja in the summer of 1928, it only partly realized the expectations then articulated. This fact confirms the assumption that the rationalization of the system of elections to representative bodies, as opposed to the issue of strengthening political institutions forming the executive, has not been a BBWR’s priority

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 63-82
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish