Presidential election in Poland in 2000

‹ 1995 • • 2005 ›
Presidential election in Poland
October 8, 2000 (first ballot)
absolute majority

	Federation of the Democratic Left
	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
	be right	9,485,224
		53.90%
Powiat election results

President of the Third Polish Republic
Before the election of Aleksander Kwaśniewski SLD Elected Aleksander Kwaśniewski SLD

The presidential election in Poland in 2000 was the popular election of the Polish head of state on October 8, 2000. In the first round of elections, the incumbent Aleksander Kwaśniewski obtained the necessary majority and was confirmed as President of the Republic of Poland for a five-year term .

background

The five-year term of President Kwaśniewski, who was elected on November 19, 1995 , began on December 23, 1995 and should expire on December 23, 2000. According to the constitution, the Sejm Marshal Maciej Płażyński called the popular election for October 8, 2000. The electoral rules were already based on the current 1997 constitution . All citizens who were entitled to vote in parliamentary elections were given the right to vote, and those who had also reached the age of 35 by the day of the election were given the right to vote. The nominations had to show the written support of at least one hundred thousand eligible citizens. If no candidate had the necessary majority of over 50% of the validly cast votes on the first election day, a second election round would have to be called, which should take place two weeks after the first election day. The two candidates who received the most votes in the first round of voting ( runoff ) would be admitted to this competition . The Supreme Court was responsible for determining the validity of the election and for the President of the National Assembly to be sworn in .

Since the incumbent can be re-elected once, he was allowed to stand for election and was considered a clear favorite.

The vote

Candidates

Dariusz M. Grabowski
Piotr Ikonowicz
Janusz Korwin-Mikke
Jarosław Kalinowski
Marian Krzaklewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Andrzej Lepper
Andrzej M. Olechowski
Jan F. Olszewski
Lech Wałęsa

The following candidates were able to show 100,000 signatures of the eligible voters within the set deadline and were allowed to participate in the first round of voting after verification by the election committee:

Dariusz Maciej Grabowski (* 1950) - PhD in economics, member of the Sejm (since 1997), entrepreneur, supported by the conservative "Polish State Reason"
Piotr Ikonowicz (* 1956) - lawyer, journalist, chairman of the Polish Socialist Party (since 1987), member of the Sejm (since 1993), former member of the opposition
Jarosław Kalinowski (* 1962) - qualified animal breeder, chairman of the Polish Peasant Party (since 1997), Sejm member (since 1993), former Minister of Agriculture (1997)
Janusz Korwin-Mikke (* 1942) - philosopher, columnist, libertarian politician ( Union for Realpolitik )
Marian Krzaklewski (* 1950) - doctorate in computer science, university professor, union leader, chairman of the union " Solidarność " (since 1990) and the election campaign "Solidarność" (since 1996)
Aleksander Kwaśniewski (* 1954) - economist (without diploma), incumbent President of the Republic of Poland, former party leader of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (1990–1995), former member of the PVAP (1977–1990), activist and for a time chairman of the party youth organization
Andrzej Lepper (1954–2011) - farmer, entrepreneur, chairman of the self-defense union (since 1992) and the party of the same name, former member of the PVAP (1978–1980)
Jan Łopuszański (* 1955) - lawyer, member of the Sejm (1989–1993 and since 1997), chairman of the clerical-conservative “Polish Unity” (since 1999), former advisor to the “Solidarność” union, former opposition member
Andrzej Marian Olechowski (* 1947) - PhD in economics, former foreign minister (1993-1995), former finance minister (1992), former advisor to the socialist government (1989), former radio DJ , independent candidate supported by the Conservative-Völkische Party
Jan Ferdynand Olszewski (1930–2019) - lawyer, attorney, chairman of the conservative movement for the reconstruction of Poland (since 1995), former opposition member, former prime minister (1991–1992), freemason
Bogdan Pawłowski (* 1945) - sports scientist, building contractor, former member of PVAP (1968–1974)
Lech Wałęsa (* 1943) - electrician, chairman of the "Christian Democracy of the 3rd Polish Republic" (since 1997), former President of the Republic of Poland (1990–1995), former chairman of the “Solidarność” trade union (1980–1990) and opposition member, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1983)
Tadeusz Adam Wilecki b. Wałach (* 1945) - General of the weapon a. D., former Chief of Staff (1992–1997), supported by the National Democratic Party

Of the thirteen admitted candidates, Jan Ferdynand Olszewski had renounced the candidacy before the first ballot and recommended Marian Krzaklewski to his supporters.

The vote

Ballot	candidate	Number of votes	% of valid votes	Supporting party
1st ballot, October 8, 2000
	Dariusz Maciej Grabowski	89 002	0.51%	Polish reason of state
	Piotr Ikonowicz	38 672	0.22%	PPS
	Jarosław Kalinowski	1,047,949	5.95%	PSL
	Janusz Korwin-Mikke	252 499	1.43%	UPR
	Marian Krzaklewski	2,739,621	15.57%	AWS
	Aleksander Kwaśniewski	9 485 224	53.90%	SLD , UP , SD
	Andrzej Lepper	537 570	3.05%	Samoobrona
	Jan Łopuszański	139 682	0.79%	Polish harmony
	Andrzej Marian Olechowski	3 044 141	17.30%	SKL
	Bogdan Pawłowski	17 164	0.10%
	Lech Wałęsa	178 590	1.01%	ChDRP
	Tadeusz Adam Wilecki	28 805	0.15%	PND
	Invalid votes	190 312
Aleksander Kwaśniewski thus achieved the required majority of 8,779,460 votes in the first ballot and was thus re-elected.

After the election

On November 6, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the October 8 election was valid because the two irregularities found could affect only a small number of eligible voters. This paved the way for President Kwaśniewski to be sworn in for a second term. This, followed by a speech by the President, took place before the National Assembly on December 23, 2000.

The unexpectedly good election result of the second-placed independent candidate Andrzej Olechowski led him to found the Platforma Obywatelska in January 2001 with Maciej Płażyński and Donald Tusk .

Footnotes

↑ ^a ^b ^c Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 9 października 2000 r. o wynikach głosowania i wyniku wyborów Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, zarządzonych na dzień 8 października 2000 r. In: Dziennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. October 9, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .
↑ Uchwała Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 6 listopada 2000 r. w sprawie ważności wyboru Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, dokonanego dnia 8 października 2000 r. In: Dziennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. November 6, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .
↑ Protokół posiedzenia Zgromadzenia Narodowego, zwołanego w celu złożenia przysięgi przez nowo wybranego Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. In: Monitor Polski, sejm.gov.pl. December 23, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .

[Wahlergebnis-1] Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 9 października 2000 r. o wynikach głosowania i wyniku wyborów Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, zarządzonych na dzień 8 października 2000 r. In: Dziennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. October 9, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .

[Gültigkeit-2] Uchwała Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 6 listopada 2000 r. w sprawie ważności wyboru Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, dokonanego dnia 8 października 2000 r. In: Dziennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. November 6, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .

[NV-2000-12-23-3] Protokół posiedzenia Zgromadzenia Narodowego, zwołanego w celu złożenia przysięgi przez nowo wybranego Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. In: Monitor Polski, sejm.gov.pl. December 23, 2000, accessed January 3, 2013 .