elce, Konin,
Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica, Leszno, Lodz, Lomza,
Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka, Pila, Piotrkow,
Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce, Sieradz,
Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg, Tarnow,
Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc,
Zielona Gora

Independence: 11 November 1918, independent republic proclaimed

Constitution: the Communist-imposed Constitution of 22 July 1952
will be replaced by a democratic Constitution before May 1991

Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and Communist
legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: National Liberation Day, 22 July (1952) will
probably be replaced by Constitution Day, 3 May (1794)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consists of
an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or National Assembly
(Sejm)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders:
Chief of State--President Gen. Wojciech JARUZELSKI (since
19 July 1989, Chairman of Council of State since 6 November 1985);

Head of Government--Premier Tadeusz MAZOWIECKI (since 24 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders:
Center-right agrarian parties--Polish Peasant Party (PSL, known
unofficially as PSL-Wilanowska), Gen. Franciszek Kaminski, chairman;
Polish Peasant Party-Solidarity, Josef Slisz, chairman;
Polish Peasant Party-Rebirth (formerly the United Peasant Party),
Kazimirrz Olrsiak, chairman;

Other center-right parties--National Party, Bronislaw Ekert,
chairman;
Christian National Union, Urrslaw Chnzanowski, chairman;
Christian Democratic Labor Party, Wladyslaw Sila Nowicki, chairman;
Democratic Party, Jerzy Jozwiak, chairman;

Center-left parties--Polish Socialist Party, Jan Jozef Lipski,
chairman;

Left-wing parties--Polish Socialist Party-Democratic Revolution;

Other--Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (formerly the
Communist Party or Polish United Workers' Party/PZPR), Aleksander
Kwasnuewski, chairman;
Union of the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (breakaway
faction of the PZPR), Tadrusz Fiszbach, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections:
Senate--last held 4 and 18 June 1989 (next to be held June 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(100 total) Solidarity 99, independent 1;

Natio