worn by their members) of nobility would assume power in each the country's regions. Most importantly, however, the Poles decided that they would choose the next king by election, and they finally established the terms of such election at a convocation sejm (sejm konwokacyjny) in 1573. On the initiative of nobles from Southern Poland, supported by the future Great Crown Chancellor and hetman Jan Zamoyski, all male szlachta (nobles) who assembled for the purpose would become electors. Any Catholic nobleman could stand for election, but in practice, only rich and powerful members of foreign dynasties or Commonwealth magnates had a serious chance for consideration. With the election of the first king of the "free election" period, the elections assumed their final form, which would remain stable for the next two centuries. Particularly in the late 17th and 18th centuries, the political instability from the elections led numerous political writers to suggest major changes to the system: most notably, to restrict the elections to Polish candidates only (that became known as the "election of a Piast"). None of the projects came into force, however. The Constitution of 3 May 1791 eliminated the practice of electing individuals to the monarchy. Procedure Three special sejms handled the process of the royal election in the interregnum period: Convocation sejm (Sejm konwokacyjny), called upon a death or abdication of a king by the Primate of Poland. Deputies would focus on establishing the dates and any special rules for the election (in particular, preparation of pacta conventa, bills of privileges to be sworn by the king) and on screening the candidates. It was to last two weeks. Election sejm (Sejm elekcyjny), when the nobility voted for the candidate to the throne. It was open to all members of the nobility and so it often had many more attendees than a regular sejm. The exact numbers of attendees were never recorded and are estimated to vary from 10,000 to over 100,000; the usual numbers tended to be towards the lower end of the scale, around 10,000-15,000. Subsequently, the voting could last days (in 1573, it was recorded that it took four days). The entire sejm was to last six weeks. To handle the increased numbers, it would be held in Wola, then a village near Warsaw. Royal candidates themselves would be barred from attending the sejm but were allowed to send representatives. Attending nobles would have discussed