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The national electoral list (commonly referred to as the national list) was a national list comprising 35 candidates for the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic's 10th term during the first round of 1989 Polish parliamentary election. It included representatives from the highest state and party authorities associated with the Polish United Workers' Party and its satellite groups, as well as social organizations controlled by the party.

In the voting held on 4 June 1989, only two candidates from the list secured parliamentary mandates. The defeat of the remaining candidates – among them Prime Minister Mieczysław Rakowski, members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party, and key figures like Ministers Czesław Kiszczak and Florian Siwicki, as well as leaders of the Alliance of Democrats and the United People's Party – resulted in most ruling bloc leaders being excluded from parliament. This outcome was widely regarded as a significant and symbolic defeat for the ruling regime.

Creation of the national electoral list

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The Polish Round Table Agreement between the ruling communists and the Solidarity opposition provided for partially free elections to the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic.[1] 65% of the seats were reserved for the signatories of the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth (representatives of the Polish United Workers' Party, the United People's Party, the Alliance of Democrats, the PAX Association, the Christian-Social Union [pl], and the Polish Catholic-Social Union [pl]). The remaining 35% of seats were open to independent candidates.[1]

10% of the 460 seats were to be allocated from the national list, designed primarily to ensure seamless election of party leaders to the Sejm. Solidarity leaders were offered 11 slots on this list, but the opposition declined,[2] perceiving it as a deceptive attempt by the Polish United Workers' Party to blur the distinctions between the government and Solidarity factions.[3]

On 7 April 1989, the Sejm, in line with the Round Table agreements, adopted a new electoral law.[4] The legislation stipulated that no more than 10% of seats could be allocated via the national list. The State Council, exercising its authority, set this number at 35 seats.[5] The electoral law allowed only the agreement of the top authorities of the Polish United Workers' Party, United People's Party, Alliance of Democrats, PAX Association, Christian-Social Union, Polish Catholic-Social Union, and Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth to submit the national list.[6]

The list was required to include candidates in alphabetical order, matching the total number of seats designated for the list. Candidates needed to receive more than half of the valid votes to secure a seat.[6] A vote for a candidate was cast by not crossing out their name on the national list. Consequently, leaving the separate ballot with these candidates unmarked meant an automatic vote for all listed individuals.[6] However, the electoral law did not specify any procedures for filling unallocated seats if some candidates failed to secure enough votes in the first round.[6] This oversight reflected the complete lack of anticipation by Wojciech Jaruzelski's regime of the national list's potential failure.[7]

The National Electoral Commission announced the national electoral list on 12 May 1989, presenting the candidates as representatives of a broad spectrum of political, social, cultural, local government, and academic groups. In reality, all nominees were closely tied to the ruling bloc. For example, former Polish United Workers' Party First Secretary Stanisław Kania was introduced as a local government activist, and Kazimierz Barcikowski, Deputy Chairman of the State Council and former Deputy Prime Minister, as a representative of cooperative groups.[8][9][10]

Notably, Polish United Workers' Party First Secretary and Chairman of the State Council Wojciech Jaruzelski was not among the candidates, as he was slated to assume the newly created office of President of the Polish People's Republic following the elections.[8] The list, however, included other communist party leaders, United People's Party and Alliance of Democrats heads, leaders of sanctioned Christian, women's, and union organizations, as well as several academics and artists supportive of the ruling bloc.[9]

Electoral campaign and voting

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Jacek Fedorowicz hosted the Electoral Studio of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee, informally instructing viewers on how to cross out candidates from the national electoral list

The Solidarity Citizens' Committee did not conduct an official campaign against the government candidates. However, voting against them, especially against the national list, was considered a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Polish People's Republic.[11] Flyers and posters began to appear on the streets, providing instructions on how to cast a vote against the coalition activists.[3] Information on this was provided by Bohdan Tomaszewski on the radio's Studio Solidarity, and Jacek Fedorowicz in the television Studio Solidarity, particularly highlighting the need to cross out each name separately rather than marking a single "X" for the entire list.[2] There were doubts regarding the legitimacy of crossing out the entire list with one mark. On 15 May 1989, the Solidarity-affiliated Gazeta Wyborcza highlighted the potential benefits of the failure of the national list candidates. In the article Zyskać więcej (Gain More), the author noted that if these seats were left unfilled, the number of non-party (citizen) deputies could be proportionally higher.[12]

In response to these actions, the government side began criticizing the opposition's campaign, accusing them of explicitly calling for the crossing out of government candidates, especially from the national list. This issue was directly addressed at a meeting of the Consultative Commission on 19 May 1989.[2][13]

In the election on 4 June 1989, only two out of the 35 candidates marginally exceeded the 50% threshold and secured seats. These were Professor Mikołaj Kozakiewicz (United People's Party, 50.85%, 8.671 million votes)[14] and Professor Adam Zieliński (Polish United Workers' Party, 50.66%, 8.639 million votes).[15] The remaining candidates received between 40.03% and 49.98% of the votes, with the lowest result being 38.76% for Kazimierz Barcikowski.[16] The selection of the two representatives was sometimes explained (e.g., by Anatol Lawina [pl]) by the specific placement of their names on the electoral list and the inaccurate cross-outs made by voters.[2]

Solution to the unfilled seats issue

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The election of 4 June 1989 brought a decisive victory for the Solidarity opposition, which, in the first round, won 160 out of the 161 seats allocated to non-party candidates in the Sejm. In contrast, the ruling coalition secured only 3 seats out of 264,[16] and these were unofficially supported by Solidarity.[17] The collapse of the national electoral list was considered the most painful and prestigious defeat for the ruling camp, as it resulted in the majority of the communist leadership being excluded from parliament.[1][17]

On 8 June 1989, another meeting of the Consultative Commission was held, during which Czesław Kiszczak criticized Lech Wałęsa for the campaign calling for the crossing out of non-Solidarity candidates, which the government side viewed as a violation of the agreements made at the Round Table talks. A proposal was made to annul the vote for the national list and to hold a re-vote in the second round. Adam Michnik opposed this solution.[2] Ultimately, it was agreed that the government would ask the State Council to legally enable the filling of the remaining 33 seats.[6][18] On 12 June 1989, the State Council issued a decree amending the electoral law and a resolution, which redistributed these seats among the existing electoral districts (creating new mandates numbered from 426 to 458) and allocated them exclusively to the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth coalition members.[19][20] This solution was controversial because it involved changing the rules of the election mid-process, which caused dissatisfaction among some Solidarity activists. Supporters of the compromise pointed to the need to demonstrate goodwill toward the other side and a desire to remain in the opposition.[18] It was also argued that such a stance would deprive the communists of an excuse to annul the elections.[21]

The additional 33 mandates were filled in the second round of voting on 18 June 1989.[22] None of the 33 candidates who had lost in the first round chose to run again.[2]

List of candidates for the national electoral list and voting results

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Bold names indicate candidates elected to the Sejm.

No. Candidate[16] Organization/Function/Profession[9][10] Votes (thousands)[16] Votes (%)[16]
1. Władysław Baka Professor of economics, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party 7,904 46.35
2. Kazimierz Barcikowski Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, deputy chairman of the State Council, chairman of the Supreme Cooperative Council, MP in the People's Sejm 6,609 38.76
3. Stanisław Ciosek Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee, general secretary of the national council of the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth 7,159 41.98
4. Józef Czyrek Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee, vice-chairman of the national council of Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth, MP in the People's Sejm 6,826 40.03
5. Wiesław Gwiżdż [pl] President of the Polish Catholic-Social Union, MP in the People's Sejm 8,029 47.09
6. Mieczysław Jakubowski [pl] Vice-chairman of the Alliance of Democrats Central Committee 8,228 48.25
7. Jerzy Jóźwiak [pl] Chairman of the Alliance of Democrats Central Committee 8,321 48.80
8. Marek Kabat [pl] Secretary of the National Board of the PAX Association, MP in the People's Sejm 8,187 48.01
9. Jan Kaczmarek Professor of technical sciences, president of the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations, MP in the People's Sejm (Polish United Workers' Party) 8,375 49.11
10. Stanisław Kania Former First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee, MP in the People's Sejm 6,877 40.33
11. Jerzy Kawalerowicz Film director, artistic director of the Polish Film Producers' Teams, MP in the People's Sejm (Polish United Workers' Party) 8,405 49.29
12. Czesław Kiszczak Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, Minister of the Interior, MP in the People's Sejm 7,666 44.96
13. Zenon Komender [pl] Chairman of the National Board of the PAX Association, deputy chairman of the State Council, MP in the People's Sejm 7,820 45.86
14. Zofia Kowalczyk [pl] Independent farmer, member of the United People's Party National Council 8,291 48.62
15. Mikołaj Kozakiewicz Professor of humanities, member of the United People's Party National Council, MP in the People's Sejm 8,671 50.85
16. Bogdan Królewski [pl] Secretary of the United People's Party National Council, MP in the People's Sejm 8,270 48.50
17. Wiktor Marek Leyk [pl] Vice-president of the Christian-Social Union, MP in the People's Sejm 8,168 47.90
18. Elżbieta Lęcznarowicz [pl] Chairwoman of the Polish Women's League 8,500 49.85
19. Dominik Ludwiczak [pl] Vice-president of the United People's Party National Council, MP in the People's Sejm 8,441 49.50
20. Jarema Maciszewski [pl] Professor of humanities, rector of the Academy of Social Sciences, MP in the People's Sejm (Polish United Workers' Party) 8,237 48.31
21. Janusz Maksymiuk Chairman of the main council of the National Association of Farmers, Peasant Circles and Agricultural Organizations, member of the Polish United Workers' Party 8,344 48.93
22. Roman Malinowski President of the United People's Party National Council, Speaker of the People's Sejm 7,921 46.45
23. Jan Mieloch [pl] Director of United Economic Teams, MP in the People's Sejm (PAX) 8,262 48.45
24. Alfred Miodowicz Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, member of the State Council, chairman of the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions, MP in the People's Sejm 7,171 42.05
25. Kazimierz Morawski [pl] President of the Christian-Social Union National Board, MP in the People's Sejm 8,432 49.45
26. Kazimierz Olesiak Member of the United People's Party National Council, deputy prime minister, minister of agriculture, forestry and food economy, MP in the People's Sejm 8,522 49.98
27. Mieczysław Rakowski Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, Prime Minister, MP in the People's Sejm 8,213 48.17
28. Florian Siwicki Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, Minister of National Defense, MP in the People's Sejm 7,539 44.21
29. Józef Szawiec [pl] Secretary of the Alliance of Democrats Central Committee, MP in the People's Sejm 8,265 48.47
30. Tadeusz Szelachowski Vice-president of the United People's Party National Council, deputy chairman of the State Council, MP in the People's Sejm 8,175 47.94
31. Szymon Szurmiej Theater director, MP in the People's Sejm (Polish United Workers' Party) 8,186 48.01
32. Edward Szymański [pl] Secretary of the Commission for Representative Bodies in the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee, MP in the People's Sejm 8,187 48.01
33. Władysław Szymański [pl] Professor of economics, member of the State Council, MP in the People's Sejm (United People's Party) 8,291 48.62
34. Stanisław Śliwiński [pl] Secretary of the United People's Party National Council 8,334 48.88
35. Adam Zieliński Professor of law, President of the Supreme Administrative Court, member of the Polish United Workers' Party --- ---

References

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  1. ^ a b c Roszkowski, Wojciech (2003). Najnowsza historia Polski 1980–2002 [The Recent History Of Poland 1980–2002] (in Polish). Warsaw: Świat Książki. pp. 101–102, 117. ISBN 978-83-7311-991-8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Łazarewicz, Cezary (4 June 2018). "Kulisy wydarzeń po 4 czerwca 1989 roku. Komuniści do końca walczyli o to, by nie oddać władzy" [The Behind-The-Scenes Of Events After 4 June 1989: Communists Fought Until The End Not To Relinquish Power]. Wprost (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  3. ^ a b Osęka, Piotr (4 November 2009). "Wygłosowana niepodległość" [Voted Independence]. www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  4. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 7 kwietnia 1989 r. Ordynacja wyborcza do Sejmu Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej X kadencji, na lata 1989-1993" [The Act of 7 April 1989: Electoral Code for the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic, 10th Term (1989–1993)]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  5. ^ "Uchwała Rady Państwa z dnia 13 kwietnia 1989 r. w sprawie liczby posłów wybieranych z krajowej listy wyborczej" [Resolution of the State Council of 13 April 1989 Regarding the Number of Deputies Elected from the National Electoral List]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  6. ^ a b c d e Karpiński, Jakub (2001). Trzecia niepodległość: najnowsza historia Polski [Third Independence: The Latest History of Poland] (in Polish). Warsaw: Świat Książki. p. 62. ISBN 978-83-7311-156-1.
  7. ^ Hall (2011, p. 54)
  8. ^ a b Gebert, Konstanty (15 May 1989). "Kto jest i kogo nie ma na liście krajowej" [Who Is and Who Is Not on the National List]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 6: 6.
  9. ^ a b c "Lista krajowa" [National List]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 23: 3. 8 June 1989.
  10. ^ a b "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 12 maja 1989 r." [Announcement of the State Electoral Commission of 12 May 1989] (PDF). ksi.home.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05.
  11. ^ Hall (2011, p. 52)
  12. ^ "Zyskać więcej" [Gain More]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 6: 2. 15 May 1989.
  13. ^ "Komisja Porozumiewawcza" [Consultative Commission]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 11: 2. 22 May 1989.
  14. ^ "Mikołaj Kozakiewicz". orka.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  15. ^ "Adam Zieliński". orka.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 8 czerwca 1989 r. o wynikach głosowania i wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej przeprowadzonych dnia 4 czerwca 1989 r." [Announcement of the State Electoral Commission of 8 June 1989 on the Voting Results and Election Results for the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic Held on 4 June 1989]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  17. ^ a b Dudek, Antoni. "Wybory czerwcowe" [The June Elections]. encysol.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2020-09-25.
  18. ^ a b Hall (2011, pp. 58–59)
  19. ^ "Dekret z dnia 12 czerwca 1989 r. o zmianie ustawy - Ordynacja wyborcza do Sejmu Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej X kadencji, na lata 1989-1993" [Decree of 12 June 1989 on the amendment of the Act - Electoral Code for the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic, 10th term, for the years 1989-1993]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  20. ^ "Uchwała Rady Państwa z dnia 12 czerwca 1989 r. w sprawie ponownego głosowania do mandatów nie obsadzonych z krajowej listy wyborczej" [Resolution of the State Council of 12 June 1989 Regarding the Re-Vote for the Unfilled Seats from the National Electoral List]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  21. ^ Zoll, Andrzej (11 June 2009). "Uczciwe wybory – osiągnięcie polskiej demokracji" [Fair Elections – An Achievement of Polish Democracy] (PDF). PAUza Akademicka (in Polish). 41/42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-06.
  22. ^ "Obwieszczenie Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej z dnia 20 czerwca 1989 r. o wynikach ponownego głosowania i wynikach wyborów do Sejmu Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej przeprowadzonych dnia 18 czerwca 1989 r." [Announcement of the National Election Commission of 20 June 1989 on the Results of the Re-Voting and the Results of the Elections to the Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland Held on 18 June 1989]. isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-12-18.

Bibliography

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