Suwałki Governorate
There were rumors that some Russian politicians were seriously considering granting autonomy to Poland, and that Polish activists wished to incorporate Lithuanian lands into their autonomous region, calling on the historic tradition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In light of these rumors, the demands of the delegates were much more radical than were expected. Most demanded autonomy in ethnographic Lithuanian lands along with any border areas that would decide to join. The region would be governed by a democratically elected seimas in Vilnius and bound by federal ties with neighboring lands. The "ethnographic Lithuanian lands" at issue were not clearly defined, but resistance to tsarist authorities was to be organized in Kovno, Grodno, and Vilna Governorates; special attention was given to Suwałki Governorate. The Seimas' resolution, adopted on the second day, explicitly stated that Lithuanians from Suwałki Governorate had decided to join the fight for autonomous Lithuania. This was largely an attempt to prevent the potential Polish autonomous region from claiming Suwałki, then part of Congress Poland, for itself. The election to seimas was to be universal, equal, direct and secret; all persons were to be granted suffrage without regard to sex, religion, or nationality. If the election had taken place, it would have been the first in Europe where women were granted an equal right to vote.