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You thought AMERICA'S elections are nutty?! One of the candidates for the first Free Election of Poland-Lithuania was IVAN THE FRIGGIN' TERRIBLE (though, aside from issuing a list of nutty demands, didn't seem too interested in the idea).

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Anyway, three sejmik (parliaments) handled the process of the royal elections during the interregnum period:

1. Convocation sejm, called upon a death or abdication of a king by the Roman Catholic Primate of Poland, who acted as interrex. Deputies focused establishing dates, special rules for the election, and the screening of potential candidates (which, ultimately, was narrowed down to any Catholic nobleman, foreign or domestic).

2. Election sejm, when the nobility voted for the candidate to the throne. It was open to all members of the nobility, and attendee numbers typically varied from 10,000 to 15,000. Therefore, the voting could last days, and was done outside of Warsaw itself. Royal candidates themselves would be barred from attending the sejm but were allowed to send representatives.

3. Coronation sejm, held at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, where the coronation ceremony was traditionally performed by the Primate, who relinquished his powers to the chosen king. The king-elect undertook various ceremonies and formalities, such as swearing an oath to uphold the pacta conventa and the Henrician Articles.

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There were ten of these Free Elections in total, from 1573-1764. As foreign candidates were allowed to become royal candidates, however, vying influences of foreign powers were common at each election. The election depicted in the painting above was that of Henryk Walezy (Henri de Valois, r. AD 1573-1575), the first King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania elected in this manner.

Description
You thought AMERICA'S elections are nutty?! One of the candidates for the first Free Election of Poland-Lithuania was IVAN THE FRIGGIN' TERRIBLE (though, aside from issuing a list of nutty demands, didn't seem too interested in the idea).

---

Anyway, three sejmik (parliaments) handled the process of the royal elections during the interregnum period:

1. Convocation sejm, called upon a death or abdication of a king by the Roman Catholic Primate of Poland, who acted as interrex. Deputies focused establishing dates, special rules for the election, and the screening of potential candidates (which, ultimately, was narrowed down to any Catholic nobleman, foreign or domestic).

2. Election sejm, when the nobility voted for the candidate to the throne. It was open to all members of the nobility, and attendee numbers typically varied from 10,000 to 15,000. Therefore, the voting could last days, and was done outside of Warsaw itself. Royal candidates themselves would be barred from attending the sejm but were allowed to send representatives.

3. Coronation sejm, held at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, where the coronation ceremony was traditionally performed by the Primate, who relinquished his powers to the chosen king. The king-elect undertook various ceremonies and formalities, such as swearing an oath to uphold the pacta conventa and the Henrician Articles.

---

There were ten of these Free Elections in total, from 1573-1764. As foreign candidates were allowed to become royal candidates, however, vying influences of foreign powers were common at each election. The election depicted in the painting above was that of Henryk Walezy (Henri de Valois, r. AD 1573-1575), the first King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania elected in this manner.