Polish Parties Forward Plan to Reduce National Minorities’ Representation in Legislative Bodies

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The national minorities in the Republic of Poland will be asked to consent to a plan according to which the number of their representatives in the Polish legislative bodies would be reduced to a minimum.

The plan originated with the Polish Right parties and aims, through a change of the Polish election ordinance, to reduce the number of deputies in the Polish Sejm from the present 444 to 300. The draft of the ordinance also aims at such a rearrangement of the election districts that the reduction of the number of deputies of the Jewish population and other minorities would result and would assure an overwhelming majority of Polish deputies in the Eastern provinces.

In general, the ordinance strives to create such conditions that at the next election an overwhelming majority of Polish deputies would be elected.

As the situation stands today, due to the existence of many parties in the Polish parliament, no political unit can form a majority consisting wholly of Polish deputies.

At the initiative of the speaker of the Sejm, Maciej Rataj, a conference of all the parties in the Polish Sejm was held yesterday to consider the possibility of reaching an understanding and securing the cooperation of the national minorities in this plan. It was stated that the Polish parties are considering making certain compromises in order to secure the endorsement of this plan by the national minorities. The correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here learns that certain leaders of the Right parties have proposed to the Club of Jewish Deputies that in exchange for its support of the plan a guarantee would be given of a certain number of Jewish deputies through the introduction of separate Jewish voting districts (Kurien), provided the Club would pledge itself to support the plan to reduce the number of deputies of the other minorities. It is understood that the Club of Jewish Deputies definitely rejected this proposal.

A similar plan affecting the composition of the city and village councils is being advocated by the Polish parties. At yesterday’s meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Sejm, the plan concerning the city and village councils was considered. Deputy Insler of the Club of Jewish Deputies, read, in behalf of all the national minorities, a protest against the agreement concluded by all the Polish parties, including the Socialists, according to which the parties are pledged to take such action during the elections to the city and village councils as would secure a Polish majority in these councils.

Following this, the representatives of the national minorities left the meeting of the Committee as a demonstration. It was stated on good authority that the agreement concluded among the Polish parties aims at preventing the possibility of a majority of Jewish councillors in any town in Poland and of a majority of the Slavic minorities in the village councils of the eastern provinces.