Polish legislative election, 1957
Encyclopedia
The Polish legislative election of 1957 was the second election
to the Sejm
, the parliament
of the People's Republic of Poland
, and the third in Communist Poland). It took place on 20 January, during the liberalization period following Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power
. Although freer than previous elections, they were not a free election. Polish voters of 1957 were given the right to vote against official candidates; de facto having a small chance to express a vote of no confidence against the government and The Party, but no possibility to elect any real opposition, whose members were not allowed to run in the elections. The elections resulted in a predictable victory for the Front of National Unity
coalition dominated by main Polish communist party, the Polish United Workers' Party
(PZPR), and communist leader, Władysław Gomułka.
The elections, while victorious for Gomułka, did not guarantee lasting changes in the Polish society. The new regime was much more liberal than its predecessor, and enjoyed moderate support for the first few years after the election, in the "little stabilization" period of 1957-1963. However, by mid-1960s it faced opposition from the factions in the communist party itself. Coupled with resurfaced popular opposition to the communist rule, Gierek would be removed from power in the aftermath of the 1968 and 1970 crises
.
The previous elections in Poland were held in 1952
. These were followed by the 1961 elections
.
The elections were originally planned for the December of 1956 but due to significant political changes in the government, resulting from Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power
, they were delayed until early 1957. Among the various promises made by First Secretary Gomułka, during the Polish October peaceful revolution, to the restless Polish population
was that of free elections. He knew that this was a promise that he could not keep without seeing his party defeated. In the January 1957 elections the new 'democratic' aspect was the reintroduction of the secret ballot
, and more importantly, there were more candidates than available seats in the parliament; in the 1952 elections
the number of candidates equaled the number of seats in the Sejm. Another liberalizing factor was that unlike in previous elections, intimidation by the secret police
(Służba Bezpieczeństwa) and the government against the opposition was limited.
The candidates were divided into two groups - one officially supported by the party and the 'independents' (broadly following the communist party line but not declared members of the party). The latter would be only considered if over half of the registered voters in the district voted against the official candidates; otherwise all seats from the district (on average between 3 to 6) would be awarded to the official candidates.
Over 60,000 candidates were registered for the 459 seats in the Sejm. The government was not prepared to release its hold on power, so the candidates were screened and only 720 or 723 out of 60,000 were finally allowed to participate and be published on the official list by the Front of National Unity
, the only organization allowed to put forth candidates in Polish elections. Factors such as the number of signatures in support of a candidate were deemed to be irrelevant.
According to an official government press agency dispatch, about half of the candidates (appox. 360) were PZPR members. A majority of the remainder belonged to PZPR allies (Democratic Party (SD), United People's Party (ZSL)). There was no opposition party in Poland since all political groupings had to support the program of the PZPR. As a result, no real opposition candidates were permitted to run in the elections, but in theory the Polish voters could have stripped the communists from their claimed legitimacy by abstaining from voting. Another means of preventing the PZPR from obtaining a political victory would have occurred if all of the PZPR candidates were struck out, leaving only 100 to be elected.
Despite the lack of genuine opposition, the liberalized election format allowed for various power struggles to be played out, primarily between the communist party candidates. A particularly notable case was the rivalry between certain candidates from the main communist party (PZPR) and one of the lesser communist parties (ZSL).
A day before the elections, Gomułka appealed to Polish citizens not to vote against the Party's candidates, asserting that 'crossing them out would equal crossing Poland off the map of Europe' and would bring upon Poland the fate of Hungary. The fear of a possible Soviet intervention, in case of Gomułka's loss, was also repeated by Radio Free Europe
, which noted that Gomułka's argument while "cruel", is likely "entirely correct." Gomułka also persuaded the Catholic Church to urge voters to go to the polls and declare a vote of confidence in the government. Supporting him, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński officially declared his support for the 'no crossing' policy.
The PZPR
won 237 (239 after by-elections) seats out of 459 while the remainder went its satellite parties (SD and ZSL) and a few independents. PZPR 237 seats gave it 51.7% of total, ZSL with 120 (118 after by-elections) had 26.1%, the independents with 63 had 14% (non-party faction, 51, and Catholics from the Znak association, 12) and SD with 39 had 8.5%. The FJN alliance was victorious, with 80.8% of the seats. Overall, the FJN alliance gained 8 seats compared to its 1952 results, but the independents nearly doubled their presence, from 37 to 63 (this is explained as the Sejm of 1957 had 459 seats, an increase of 34 from the 1952, which had only 425 seats). PZPR was the biggest looser, with 34 seats less than in 1952, ZSL gained 28, and SD, 14. However, as the other parties and "independents" were in fact subordinate to PZPR, its control of the Sejm was, in fact, total. The representational pattern in the Sejm would be nearly stable for the next 30 years, following a slight swing from the independents to PZPR in 1961.
According to official data, turnout was 94.14%, which are considered to be somewhat suspect considering heavy snowfalls and unfavorable weather conditions prevailing in Poland at the time, and 98.4% of votes were cast for official candidates. Approximately 10.6% of the voters disobeyed the calls for "no crossing", but in the end only one seat (in Nowy Sącz
) remained unfilled due to no candidate achieving absolute majority.
The new Sejm had its first session on 20 February. Its senior marshal (speaker) was Bolesław Drobner
; its Sejm marshal was Czesław Wycech. Only 12% of the new deputies were members of the previous, 1952, Sejm.
Two by-election
s were held after the main election. The first took place on 17 March 1957 at Nowy Sącz. The second took place at Wieluń
on 5 May 1957 to replace the incumbent who died on February 5. Those by-elections were won by the PZPR and the ZSL respectively. Two more by-elections took place on October 19, 1958 in Myślenice
and Oleśnica
. In those by-elections, ZSL lost the seats to PZPR.
, soon after the 1968 Polish political crisis, would eventually cause him to lose support with the PZPR party; suffering from nervous exhaustion, Gomułka would be forced to resign and replaced by Edward Gierek
.
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
to the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
, the parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
, and the third in Communist Poland). It took place on 20 January, during the liberalization period following Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power
Polish October
Polish October, also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the Polish internal political scene in the second half of 1956...
. Although freer than previous elections, they were not a free election. Polish voters of 1957 were given the right to vote against official candidates; de facto having a small chance to express a vote of no confidence against the government and The Party, but no possibility to elect any real opposition, whose members were not allowed to run in the elections. The elections resulted in a predictable victory for the Front of National Unity
Front of National Unity
Front of National Unity or National Unity Front was a Polish communist political organization supervising elections in People's Republic of Poland and also acting as a coalition for the dominant communist Polish United Workers' Party and its allies. It was founded in 1952 as National Front and...
coalition dominated by main Polish communist party, the Polish United Workers' Party
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
(PZPR), and communist leader, Władysław Gomułka.
The elections, while victorious for Gomułka, did not guarantee lasting changes in the Polish society. The new regime was much more liberal than its predecessor, and enjoyed moderate support for the first few years after the election, in the "little stabilization" period of 1957-1963. However, by mid-1960s it faced opposition from the factions in the communist party itself. Coupled with resurfaced popular opposition to the communist rule, Gierek would be removed from power in the aftermath of the 1968 and 1970 crises
Polish 1970 protests
The Polish 1970 protests were protests that occurred in northern Poland in December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase of prices of food and other everyday items...
.
The previous elections in Poland were held in 1952
Polish legislative election, 1952
The Polish legislative election of 1952 was the first election to the Sejm, the parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and second in Communist Poland. They took place on 26 October...
. These were followed by the 1961 elections
Polish legislative election, 1961
The Polish legislative election of 1961 was the third election to the Sejm, the parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and fourth in Communist Poland...
.
Background
Polish October
Polish October, also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the Polish internal political scene in the second half of 1956...
, they were delayed until early 1957. Among the various promises made by First Secretary Gomułka, during the Polish October peaceful revolution, to the restless Polish population
Poznan 1956 protests
The Poznań 1956 protests, also known as Poznań 1956 uprising or Poznań June , were the first of several massive protests of the Polish people against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
was that of free elections. He knew that this was a promise that he could not keep without seeing his party defeated. In the January 1957 elections the new 'democratic' aspect was the reintroduction of the secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
, and more importantly, there were more candidates than available seats in the parliament; in the 1952 elections
Polish legislative election, 1952
The Polish legislative election of 1952 was the first election to the Sejm, the parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and second in Communist Poland. They took place on 26 October...
the number of candidates equaled the number of seats in the Sejm. Another liberalizing factor was that unlike in previous elections, intimidation by the secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
(Służba Bezpieczeństwa) and the government against the opposition was limited.
The candidates were divided into two groups - one officially supported by the party and the 'independents' (broadly following the communist party line but not declared members of the party). The latter would be only considered if over half of the registered voters in the district voted against the official candidates; otherwise all seats from the district (on average between 3 to 6) would be awarded to the official candidates.
Over 60,000 candidates were registered for the 459 seats in the Sejm. The government was not prepared to release its hold on power, so the candidates were screened and only 720 or 723 out of 60,000 were finally allowed to participate and be published on the official list by the Front of National Unity
Front of National Unity
Front of National Unity or National Unity Front was a Polish communist political organization supervising elections in People's Republic of Poland and also acting as a coalition for the dominant communist Polish United Workers' Party and its allies. It was founded in 1952 as National Front and...
, the only organization allowed to put forth candidates in Polish elections. Factors such as the number of signatures in support of a candidate were deemed to be irrelevant.
According to an official government press agency dispatch, about half of the candidates (appox. 360) were PZPR members. A majority of the remainder belonged to PZPR allies (Democratic Party (SD), United People's Party (ZSL)). There was no opposition party in Poland since all political groupings had to support the program of the PZPR. As a result, no real opposition candidates were permitted to run in the elections, but in theory the Polish voters could have stripped the communists from their claimed legitimacy by abstaining from voting. Another means of preventing the PZPR from obtaining a political victory would have occurred if all of the PZPR candidates were struck out, leaving only 100 to be elected.
Despite the lack of genuine opposition, the liberalized election format allowed for various power struggles to be played out, primarily between the communist party candidates. A particularly notable case was the rivalry between certain candidates from the main communist party (PZPR) and one of the lesser communist parties (ZSL).
A day before the elections, Gomułka appealed to Polish citizens not to vote against the Party's candidates, asserting that 'crossing them out would equal crossing Poland off the map of Europe' and would bring upon Poland the fate of Hungary. The fear of a possible Soviet intervention, in case of Gomułka's loss, was also repeated by Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
, which noted that Gomułka's argument while "cruel", is likely "entirely correct." Gomułka also persuaded the Catholic Church to urge voters to go to the polls and declare a vote of confidence in the government. Supporting him, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński officially declared his support for the 'no crossing' policy.
Election results
| Party | Seats | % | |
| Polish United Workers' Party Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :... |
239 | 52% | |
| United People's Party United People's Party (Poland) The United People's Party was an agrarian political party in the People's Republic of Poland. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent People's Party of Stanisław Mikołajczyk .ZSL became - as intended from its very... |
118 | 25.7% | |
| Independents | 63 | 13.7% | |
| Democratic Party (Poland) Democratic Party (Poland) The Democratic Party is a Polish centrist party. The party faced a revival in 2009, when it was joined by liberal politician Paweł Piskorski, formerly member of Civic Platform.-History:The party was established on April 15, 1939... |
39 | 8.5% | |
The PZPR
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
won 237 (239 after by-elections) seats out of 459 while the remainder went its satellite parties (SD and ZSL) and a few independents. PZPR 237 seats gave it 51.7% of total, ZSL with 120 (118 after by-elections) had 26.1%, the independents with 63 had 14% (non-party faction, 51, and Catholics from the Znak association, 12) and SD with 39 had 8.5%. The FJN alliance was victorious, with 80.8% of the seats. Overall, the FJN alliance gained 8 seats compared to its 1952 results, but the independents nearly doubled their presence, from 37 to 63 (this is explained as the Sejm of 1957 had 459 seats, an increase of 34 from the 1952, which had only 425 seats). PZPR was the biggest looser, with 34 seats less than in 1952, ZSL gained 28, and SD, 14. However, as the other parties and "independents" were in fact subordinate to PZPR, its control of the Sejm was, in fact, total. The representational pattern in the Sejm would be nearly stable for the next 30 years, following a slight swing from the independents to PZPR in 1961.
According to official data, turnout was 94.14%, which are considered to be somewhat suspect considering heavy snowfalls and unfavorable weather conditions prevailing in Poland at the time, and 98.4% of votes were cast for official candidates. Approximately 10.6% of the voters disobeyed the calls for "no crossing", but in the end only one seat (in Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
) remained unfilled due to no candidate achieving absolute majority.
The new Sejm had its first session on 20 February. Its senior marshal (speaker) was Bolesław Drobner
Bolesław Drobner
Bolesław Drobner was a Polish politician. Member of the Polish Socialist Party, he supported cooperation with the communists...
; its Sejm marshal was Czesław Wycech. Only 12% of the new deputies were members of the previous, 1952, Sejm.
Two by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s were held after the main election. The first took place on 17 March 1957 at Nowy Sącz. The second took place at Wieluń
Wielun
Wieluń is a city in central Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , it was previously in Sieradz Voivodeship .- History :...
on 5 May 1957 to replace the incumbent who died on February 5. Those by-elections were won by the PZPR and the ZSL respectively. Two more by-elections took place on October 19, 1958 in Myślenice
Myslenice
Myślenice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Kraków Voivodeship . Population: 20,261.-Twin towns — Sister cities:Myślenice is twinned with: Bełchatów, Poland- Sports :...
and Oleśnica
Olesnica
Oleśnica is a town in the Trzebnickie Hills in southwestern Poland with 36,951 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship...
. In those by-elections, ZSL lost the seats to PZPR.
Aftermath
Despite Gomułka's hopes, the elections, while victorious for him, did not mean the end of opposition to the communist rule. For a while, support for the Gomułka's-led communist party run high. Reflecting this, the period 1957-1963 is known as "little stabilization". While his regime was much more liberal than the one he succeeded, this gave rive to an opposition within the PZPR party, as some communist politicians, like General Mieczysław Moczar, saw Gomułka as "too soft." Meanwhile, dissension with the communist rule would grow, and the Polish 1970 protestsPolish 1970 protests
The Polish 1970 protests were protests that occurred in northern Poland in December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase of prices of food and other everyday items...
, soon after the 1968 Polish political crisis, would eventually cause him to lose support with the PZPR party; suffering from nervous exhaustion, Gomułka would be forced to resign and replaced by Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek was a Polish communist politician.He was born in Porąbka, outside of Sosnowiec. He lost his father to a mining accident in a pit at the age of four. His mother married again and emigrated to northern France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist Party in 1931 and was...
.
See also
- Polish legislative election, 1947Polish legislative election, 1947The Polish legislative election of 1947 was held on January 19, 1947 in the People's Republic of Poland. The anti-communist opposition candidates and activists were persecuted and the eventual results were falsified...
- first elections under the communist regime in Poland - Polish legislative election, 1989Polish legislative election, 1989The Polish legislative election of 1989 was the tenth election to the Sejm, the parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and eleventh in Communist Poland...
- last elections under the communist regime in Poland
Further reading
- Jerzy Drygalski, Jacek Kwasniewski, No-Choice Elections, Soviet Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Apr., 1990), pp. 295–315, JSTOR
- George Sakwa, Martin Crouch, Sejm Elections in Communist Poland: An Overview and a Reappraisal, British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct., 1978), pp. 403–424, JSTOR