Satirical drawing from "Hasło Łódzkie" newspaper, 5 October 1930. The text: "From the series: 'Most popular Polish spa towns' - Brest-on-the-Bug." The picture is a reference to the Brest trial and the "Brest elections", when many Polish politicians of the Centrolew party were imprisoned in the Brest Fortress (pictured).

Polish legislative election, 1930, also known as the Brest elections, were the elections to the Sejm (Polish parliament) on 16 November 1930. The pro-Sanacja Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem party took 56% of the votes (247 out of 444 seats in Sejm, and 76 out of 111 seats in Senate of Poland). The elections are known as the least free elections in the Second Polish Republic due to the Brest trial controversy. A spa town is a town frequented, in times past, for health reasons, to take the waters. The name derives from the Belgian town Spa, and in continental Europe, a spa was known as a ville deau (town of water). ... Brest (Belarusian: ; Russian: , formerly Брест-Литовск (Brest-Litovsk); in Polish as Brześć Litewski, Brześć nad Bugiem or Brześć BiaÅ‚oruski; Lithuanian: Lietuvos Brasta (literally meaning shallows of Lithuania) is a city (population 290,000 in 2004) in Belarus close to the Polish border where the Western Bug and Mukhavets Rivers meet. ... Hero-Fortress (крепость-герой - krepost-geroy) is the honorary title awarded to the Soviet fortress now located in Brest, Belarus (then part of the Byelorussian SSR) in 1965 for the heroic defence of the frontier stronghold during the very first weeks of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945. ... An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Flag of the Chief of State (1919-1927) Sanacja was a coalition political movement of the Second Polish Republic in the inter war years. ... The Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z RzÄ…dem (Polish for Non-Party Block of Collaboration with the Government), abbreviated BBWR, was a non-political organization which existed from 1928 until 1935, closely affiliated with PiÅ‚sudski and his Sanacja movement. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... The Polish Senate The Senate (Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament. ... Second Polish Republic 1921-1939 The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388. ...

The controversy

The elections were rigged by the pro-Sanacja elements in the Polish government[1] [[2] under the control of Józef Piłsudski (although Piłsudski's left most of the details of the internal politics to others[3]). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Flag of the Chief of State (1919-1927) Sanacja was a coalition political movement of the Second Polish Republic in the inter war years. ... Poland is a republican representative democracy under a parliamentary system. ... Office Chief of State, Marshal of Poland Term of office from November 14, 1918 until December 9, 1922 Profession Polish Leader Political party none, see Sanacja for details Spouse Maria PiÅ‚sudska Date of birth December 5, 1867 Place of birth Zułów, in todays Lithuania Date of death...

The elections were supposed to take place in May, but the government invalidated the May results by disbanding the parliament in August[4] and with increasing pressure on the opposition started a new campaign, the new elections being scheduled to November[5]. Using the anti-government demonstrations as a pretext, 20[6] members of the oppositions, including most of the leaders of Centrolew alliance (from Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PLS "Piast" and PSL "Wyzwolenie" parties) were arrested[7] in September without a warrant, only on the order of the minister of internal security, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski. The opposition members (who included the former prime minister Wincenty Witos) were imprisoned in the Brest Fortress, where their trial took place (thus the popular name for the election: the 'Brest election'). A number of less known activists were arrested throughout the country[8]. They were released after the end of the election in the same month. The Brest trial ended in January 1932, with 10 accused receiving sentences up to 3 years of imprisonment. Some of them decided to emmigrate instead[9]. A man holds up a street puppet designed to resemble George W. Bush at a demonstration against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005 in Washington, D.C.. American Civil Rights March on Washington, leaders marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, August 28... Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) was one of the most important Polish political parties 1890-1948. ... Warrant has several meanings: In law, a warrant is a form of authorization, such as A writ issued by a judge. ... Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos (1874 - 1945) was an actvist of the Polish Peasant Party (PSL) from 1895 and leader of Piast faction from 1913. ... Hero-Fortress (крепость-герой - krepost-geroy) is the honorary title awarded to the Soviet fortress now located in Brest, Belarus (then part of the Byelorussian SSR) in 1965 for the heroic defence of the frontier stronghold during the very first weeks of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945. ...

In addition, the minorities were also discriminated against[10]; the government crackdown on opposition was especially hard in the eastern provinces[11] [12].

Nonetheless despite the governments pressure, the opposition members still sat in the parliament[13].

Results

The Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem (Polish for Non-Party Block of Collaboration with the Government), abbreviated BBWR, was a non-political organization which existed from 1928 until 1935, closely affiliated with Piłsudski and his Sanacja movement. ... Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) was one of the most important Polish political parties 1890-1948. ... The Communist Party of Poland (Polish: Komunistyczna Partia Polski) was a historical communist party in Poland. ...

References

• The results