The Sejm of the Republic of Poland is the lower house of the Polish parliament. It consists of 460 deputies elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the "Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland". In the Kingdom of Poland, "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber parliament of Poland, comprising the lower house (the Chamber of Envoys), the upper house (the Senate), and the King. It was thus a three-estate parliament. Since the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), "Sejm" has referred only to the lower house of the parliament; the upper house is called the "Senate of the Republic of Poland".

The Senate of Poland was abolished by the Polish people's referendum in 1946, after which the Sejm became the sole legislative body in Poland. Even though the Sejm was largely subservient to the Communist party, one brave deputy, Romuald Bukowski (an independent) voted against the imposition of martial law in 1982.

After the end of communism in 1989, the Senate was reinstated as the upper house of a bicameral national assembly, while the Sejm became the lower house. The Sejm is now composed of 460 deputies elected by proportional representation every four years. Between 7 and 19 deputies are elected from each constituency their number being proportional to their constituency's population. Candidates are chosen only from parties that gained at least 5% of the nationwide vote.

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