Poland’s first parliamentary elections following the restoration of independence were to the Constitutional Sejm. They were carried out on the basis of the Decree of November 28, 1918 on elections to the Sejm, drafted and adopted by the Provisional People’s Government of the Polish Republic headed by Jędrzej Moraczewski, and approved by Józef Piłsudski, the Provisional Chief of State. The most significant determination of the decree was that of granting eligibility to run for office to all citizens, of both sexes, who would be aged twenty-one by the date the election was announced, save for active servicemen; and that of granting the right to vote to all, including military men. Poland was one of Europe’s first countries to grant women full suffrage.
The election took place on January 26, 1919.
