Electoral Activity of Kashubs, 1991ꟷ2015

The Kashubs are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia (Eastern Pomerania), the north-central part of Poland (Pomeranian Voivodship). Analogously to their linguistic classification, the Kashubs are considered either an ethnic or a linguistic community. Regardless of that, the Kashubs are closely related to the Poles. Most Kashubs declare Polish national identity and Kashubian ethnicity, and are considered both Polish and Kashubian. The number of Kashubs ranges from 228,000 to 500,000, of which only 5,000-17,000 (up to 7.5%) are considered as a separate nation. In recent years, the interests of the Kashubian community have been represented by two organizations: the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association and the Kashubian Unity. The first is moderate, perceiving the Kashubs as a separate ethnic group, but forming part of the Polish nation. The second is the slogan of the existence of a separate Kashubian nation. Only the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association (ZKP) was involved directly (rarely) or indirectly (more often) in elections. The Kashubian Unity was established only in 2011 and so far did not participate in the elections. Direct involvement was limited to the start of the candidates of the Association in the Senate (upper house of parliament) elections in 1991 and 1993 from the Gdańsk electoral district (identical with gdańskie voivodship). This district included a larger part of the Kashubian ethnic area, however Kashubians constituted only about 25% of the total population there. In 1991, the then chairman of the Association, Józef Borzyszkowski, gained 155,694 votes (30.8%), took the second place, and became a senator (each voter had two votes and the senators became candidates with the two best results). Two years later, another candidate of the Association, Edmund Wittbrodt (from 2016 the chairman of the Association), received only 75,038 votes in the same district (13.4%) and took 5th place. In the later elections, the Association activists chose a different tactic and joined the nationwide political movements in the Senate elections. From the very beginning they did the same in other elections: regional, parliamentary, European and presidential. Political divisions between Kashubians show that they were strongly woven into nationwide political divisions. Kashubians from urban areas voteed more often for Liberals, Kashubians for rural areas more often for Conservatives. A significant representation of Kashubian parliamentarians, and their willingness to act for the good of the region and its community, caused that in 2006 a Kashubian Parliamentary Group formed of members and senators associated with Kashubians, belonging to different political options. The strength of this group lies in the fact that it has a real influence on many financial, social and political decisions.