Between Electoral Manipulation and Optimisation: The Dates of the Elections and the Term of Office of Self-Government in Poland from 1990 to 2024

Abstract This article presents the results of research on the electoral system for local government organs. The research focused on three elements of the electoral system: the procedures for ordering elections, the dates of voting and the length of the local government’s term of office. The aim of the analysis is to describe how the local government electoral system changed in these three areas between 1990 and 2024 and to identify and explain the reasons for the changes. The article includes extensions of the self-government’s term of office until the end of April 2024.