Sejm
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Sejm or Seym (pronounced: [sεjm]) is the name of lower house of Polish parliament.
The history of the Sejm dates back to 1182 and the first Sejm at Łęczyca. With time and develpment of unique Polish noble's democracy the Sejm powers increased. Since 1493 the indirect elections were repeated every two years.
The term "sejm" comes from an old Polish expression denoting a meeting of the populace. The General Sejm, first convoked by the king in 1493, evolved from earlier regional and provincial meetings (sejmiks), which apparently had arisen without benefit of formal legal acts.
Before the 20th century the name of Sejm/Seym, or Diet, was the name of three chamber Polish parliament, which consisted of the lower house (Izba Poselska) and the upper house (Senat) and the King. It was usually referred to as 3 estates parliament.
Since 1918, the name Sejm has referred only to the lower house of the Parliament; the upper house is still the Senate - Senat. Since the fall of Communism, the Sejm comprises 460 members elected in proportional elections every 4 years.
See also
- Silent Diet (Sejm Niemy)
- Great Diet (Sejm Wielki)
- Contract Diet (Sejm Kontraktowy)
- Confederated sejm (Sejm skonfederowany)
- Coronation Sejm (Sejm koronacyjny)
- Election Sejm (Sejm elekcyjny)
- Sejmik
- Wiec - original Slavic assembly
External links:
Seimas is the name of the parliament in Lithuania. See also: Politics of Lithuania
Saeima is the name of the parliament in Latvia.
Sejm or Seym is a river in Russia and Ukraine.
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