Legislative Sejm (Second Polish Republic)
History
History
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The [elections to the Sejm](/wiki/1919_Polish_legislative_election "1919 Polish legislative election") took place on January 26, 1919\. At that time, Poland did not have fixed boundaries, and was involved in territorial conflicts and disputes. On the territories under the nascent Polish state's control, in the lands of former [Congress Kingdom](/wiki/Congress_Kingdom "Congress Kingdom") and [Podlasie](/wiki/Podlasie "Podlasie") region, and western [Lesser Poland](/wiki/Lesser_Poland "Lesser Poland"), 42 electoral districts returned 302 deputies. In addition, 20 Polish deputies to the [German Parliament](/wiki/German_Parliament "German Parliament"), 26 Polish deputies to the [Austro\-Hungarian Parliament](/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_Parliament "Austro-Hungarian Parliament"), and selected candidates from the [Cieszyn](/wiki/Cieszyn "Cieszyn") region (where elections were disrupted due to hostilities) were added to the Sejm. In the coming months, as the Polish control grew over some disputed territories, more elections were held: on April 25, 1919, in [Greater Poland](/wiki/Greater_Poland "Greater Poland") and on June 15, 1919 in the [Białystok](/wiki/Bia%C5%82ystok "Białystok") and Podlasie regions. Some deputies who were provisional representatives yielded their seats to the newly elected ones. On March 24, 1922, the Sejm was joined by 20 deputies from the [Republic of Central Lithuania](/wiki/Republic_of_Central_Lithuania "Republic of Central Lithuania") (the dissolved [Sejm of Central Lithuania](/wiki/Sejm_of_Central_Lithuania "Sejm of Central Lithuania")). The Sejm thus had a changing number of deputies, starting at 348 and ending its term with 432 members. About 5 million votes were cast in the election.

Important legislation passed by the Sejm included laws on the [military draft](/wiki/Military_draft "Military draft"), [land reform](/wiki/Land_reform "Land reform"), and the development of a [constitution](/wiki/Constitution "Constitution"), and the state\-sponsored health insurance system. In 1921 the Sejm passed the [March Constitution](/wiki/March_Constitution_of_Poland "March Constitution of Poland").


What impact did the passing of legislation regarding health insurance have on Polish society?