On June 9, Poles will elect 53 of their representatives to the European Parliament. Here is a quick rundown of how the seats will be allocated.
Seats in the European Parliament are assigned to each member state of the European Union based on their population. To that end, all EU countries must conduct censuses in the same year, the most recent census having been conducted in 2021.
Poland is the 5th most populous EU country. According to the 2021 census, there were 37 million Poles out of 443.2 million EU-wide, meaning that the Poles made up 8.35% of the bloc’s population.
The number of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) assigned to Poland was 53 out of the total of 720, so 7.36% of seats, compared to 52 out of 705, or 7.45% in 2019.
Before anyone gets into a huff over Poland getting shortchanged: this is because smaller countries get some extra representation, similar to the U.S. Congress or Electoral College.
For the sake of comparison, the Maltese make up 0.18% of the EU population. In spite of that, Malta has 6 MEPs (as do some other states with small populations), making up for 0.83% of the seats in the EP, whereas, while Germany makes up 18.78% of the population of the EU, it only get 96 MEPs, who make up 13.33% of the body.
Party seat allocation
Poland is the 5th most populous EU country. According to the 2021 census, there were 37 million Poles out of 443.2 million EU-wide, meaning that the Poles made up 8.35% of the bloc’s population.
The number of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) assigned to Poland was 53 out of the total of 720, so 7.36% of seats, compared to 52 out of 705, or 7.45% in 2019.
Before anyone gets into a huff over Poland getting shortchanged: this is because smaller countries get some extra representation, similar to the U.S. Congress or Electoral College.
For the sake of comparison, the Maltese make up 0.18% of the EU population. In spite of that, Malta has 6 MEPs (as do some other states with small populations), making up for 0.83% of the seats in the EP, whereas, while Germany makes up 18.78% of the population of the EU, it only get 96 MEPs, who make up 13.33% of the body.
Party seat allocation
Once the votes are counted, the 53 Polish seats in the European Parliament will be assigned to candidates of electoral lists that pass the 5% threshold (unlike in parliamentary elections, there is no 8% threshold for coalition lists) according to the D’Hondt Method.
This method generally favors larger parties, but the extent to which it does so depends on the size of the constituency (it has a greater impact in smaller constituencies) but for the purpose of dividing seats between lists, Poland is treated as a single constituency.
Regional seat allocation
However, Poland is also divided into 13 constituencies, mostly coterminous with provinces, albeit with some exceptions.
For example, Warsaw and its metropolitan area make up a constituency separate from the country’s most populous Mazowieckie Province, while the least populous provinces are combined together or with neighboring more populous provinces to form larger constituencies.
These constituencies do not have a fixed number of seats assigned to them, unlike in parliamentary elections.
Instead, the Hare-Niemeyer method, also known as the largest remainder method, is used to determine the number of seats for each list in each constituency.
Firstly, the number of votes cast for each list in each constituency is multiplied by the number of seats assigned according to the D’Hondt method.
Secondly, this number is divided by the number of valid votes cast for that list nationwide. The value of the integer (whole number, i.e. before the decimal point) is the number of seats assigned to that list in a given constituency.
Finally, any yet unallocated seats are assigned to lists that are still due to be allocated seats based on the largest fractional remainder (hence the name of the method) across all constituencies.
This method of allocating seats to constituencies means the number of MEPs assigned to each constituency is not based directly on population but rather favors constituencies with higher turnout.
This method generally favors larger parties, but the extent to which it does so depends on the size of the constituency (it has a greater impact in smaller constituencies) but for the purpose of dividing seats between lists, Poland is treated as a single constituency.
Regional seat allocation
However, Poland is also divided into 13 constituencies, mostly coterminous with provinces, albeit with some exceptions.
For example, Warsaw and its metropolitan area make up a constituency separate from the country’s most populous Mazowieckie Province, while the least populous provinces are combined together or with neighboring more populous provinces to form larger constituencies.
These constituencies do not have a fixed number of seats assigned to them, unlike in parliamentary elections.
Instead, the Hare-Niemeyer method, also known as the largest remainder method, is used to determine the number of seats for each list in each constituency.
Firstly, the number of votes cast for each list in each constituency is multiplied by the number of seats assigned according to the D’Hondt method.
Secondly, this number is divided by the number of valid votes cast for that list nationwide. The value of the integer (whole number, i.e. before the decimal point) is the number of seats assigned to that list in a given constituency.
Finally, any yet unallocated seats are assigned to lists that are still due to be allocated seats based on the largest fractional remainder (hence the name of the method) across all constituencies.
This method of allocating seats to constituencies means the number of MEPs assigned to each constituency is not based directly on population but rather favors constituencies with higher turnout.
Source: TVP World
More In Politics MORE...
