The 1938–1939 Polish local elections were the last series of elections for

local governments Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. They were likely held only in 40% of gminas and the majority of gromadas and cities, in the latter they were held largely on 18 December 1938. The majority of seats were earned by the

Camp of National Unity ''Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego'' (, OZN; ), often called ''Ozon'' (Polish for "ozone"), was a Polish political party founded in 1937 by sections of the leadership in the Sanation movement. A year after the 1935 death of Poland's Chief of Stat ...

alongside independents. According to Hubert Izdebski, the elections were held in a much better atmosphere than the previous local elections. Turnout reached 63,8%. The elections were held according to the ordinance ''o wyborze radnych miejskich'' oraz ''o wyborze radnych gromadzkich, gminnych i powiatowych'' from 16 August 1938. The elections to gromada, gmina and undesignated town councils were managed by

starostas Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadershi ...

Voivodes Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

managed elections over powiat councils and designated towns, whereas the Minister of Interior Affairs managed the elections in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(first since 1927).Ustawa z dnia 16 sierpnia 1938 r. o wyborze radnych miejskichUstawa z dnia 16 sierpnia 1938 r. o wyborze radnych gromadzkich, gminnych i powiatowych

Results

City councils

The total results for city council elections, based on 564 out of 604 existing cities, are as follows:

Gromada councils

In 39 265 gromadas, 517 936 councillors were elected:

Gmina councils

In 1 246 gminas, 20 284 councillors were elected:

References

1939 in Poland 1938 in Poland 1939 elections in Europe 1938 elections in Europe Local elections in Poland {{Polish elections