1573 Polish–Lithuanian Royal Election

The first free election

April 5, 1573 – May 16, 1573 · The Commonwealth's royal elections

The free election was introduced due to the childless death of the last Jagiellonian monarch Sigismund II Augustus and the lack of a potential candidate that would satisfy most of the nobles.

A royal free election of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: the assembled nobility chose the king. Vast for its era, the franchise was still nobility-only — and later elections were swayed openly by foreign money and armies.

President before

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Elected President

Henri de Valois

The free election of 1573 was the first ever royal election to be held in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It attracted an estimated 40,000–50,000 szlachta (Polish nobility) voters (the highest turnout ever) who elected Henry of Valois king.

Winning share

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Turnout

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The surviving record for this contest does not include a candidate-by-candidate table; the story above is what the sources support.