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Poland Regional and Local Government
The territory of Poland is administered through a
system of
forty-nine districts established in 1975 to replace the
previous
system of twenty-two districts. In addition, three city
councils-
-Warsaw, Lodz, and Kraków--enjoy special administrative
status.
Each district is managed by a government-appointed
wojewoda (typically a professional administrator)
and a
district assembly whose members are chosen by the
popularly
elected local government units, the community
(gmina; pl.,
gminy) councils. Both the district and community
levels of
government enjoy far greater autonomy than they did under
the
highly centralized communist system of administration.
According to the amended constitution in use in
mid-1992,
local self-rule is the basic organizational form of public
life
in the community. The community possesses legal status and
acts
on behalf of the public interest in accordance with the
law. The
residents of the community directly elect a standing
council of
their peers to a four-year term by universal secret
ballot. A
community or town of fewer than 40,000 residents elects
council
members in single-seat districts on a simple majority
basis.
Cities with more than 40,000 people use multiseat
districts, and
seats are allocated on a proportional basis. The executive
organ
of the community is the municipal government (zarz
d),
which consists of a "chief officer" (wojt; pl.,
wojtowie) or mayor, his or her deputies, and other
members. Communities may form intercommunity unions to
coordinate
projects of mutual interest.
Community councils in a given district elect delegates
from
their membership to a self-governing regional council
(sejmik samorzadowy), which approves
formation of
intercommunity unions and works closely with district
authorities
through mandatory reports moving in both directions. The
prime
minister and district authorities monitor community
activity, but
they may interfere only in instances of obvious
incompetence or
violation of law.
Data as of October 1992
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