The Polish legislative election, 1957 was the second election to the Sejm (parliament) of the People's Republic of Poland (and the third in the 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. An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. ... The Sejm building in Warsaw. ... A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. ... Capital Warsaw Language(s) Polish Government Socialist republic President Wojciech Jaruzelski Edward Gierek Historical era Cold War  - Established June 28, 1945  - Constitution July 22, 1952  - Disestablished July 19, 1989 Area 312,685 km2 120,728 sq mi Currency Polish zÅ‚oty The Peoples Republic of Poland or Polish People... The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of Soviet Communist dominance over the Peoples Republic of Poland in the decades following World War II. These years, while featuring many improvements in the standards of living in Poland, were marred by political instability, social unrest, and... WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw GomuÅ‚ka (February 6, 1905, Krosno – September 1, 1982) was a Polish Communist leader. ... A Motion of No Confidence, also called Motion of Non Confidence is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ... ... The Polish United Workers Party (PUWP; in Polish, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR), was the governing political party in communist_ruled Poland from its creation (through a fusion of the communist Polish Workers Party and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party) in December 1948 until the regimes electoral... WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw GomuÅ‚ka (February 6, 1905, Krosno – September 1, 1982) was a Polish Communist leader. ...

Background

Among various promises to the restless Polish population, the new Polish leader, First Secretary Gomułka, who ascended to power in the Polish October peaceful revolution^[1] also promised free elections, but this was a promise he knew he could not keep without seeing his party defeated. In the January 1957 elections the new 'democratic' aspect of the elections was the reintroduction of the secret ballot^[1] and even more importantly, there were more candidates than seats in the parliament;^[1][2] in the 1952 elections the number of candidates equalled the number of seats in the Sejm.^[2][1] Another liberalizing factor was that unlike in previous elections, secret police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa) terror and other strong-arm tactics by the government against any opposition was limited.^[1] PoznaÅ„ crosses commemorating the PoznaÅ„ 1956 protests and subsequent Polish protests against the communist political system. ... Election of Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki as king of Poland at Wola, outside Warsaw ( 1669). ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voters choices are confidential. ... This article is about secret police as organizations. ... SÅ‚użba BezpieczeÅ„stwa (or SB) Ministerstwa Spraw WewnÄ™trznych, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - was the name of communist internal intelligence agency and secret police, established in the Peoples Republic of Poland in 1956, SB was the main organ in Poland responsible for political repression, until...

The candidates were divided into two groups - one officially supported by the party and the 'independents' (broadly following the communist party line but not members of the party themselves^[2]); the latter would be only considered if over half of the voting district population decided to vote against the official candidates; otherwise all seats from the district (on average between 3 to 6) would go to the official candidates.^[2]

Over 60,000^[2][1] candidates were registered for the 458^[3] or 459^[1][4] seats in the Sejm.^[2] The government was however not prepared to seriously release its hold on power; the candidates were screened and only 720^[1] or 723^[2][3] out of 60,000 were finally allowed to participate and put on the official list by the Front of National Unity (Polish: Front Jedności Narodu, FJN), the only organization allowed to put forth candidates in Polish elections; factors such as number of signatures in support of a candidate were irrelevant.^[2]

According to an official government press agency dispatch, about one-half of the candidates (appox. 360) were PZPR members.^[1] Majority of others belonged to PZPR allies (Democratic Party (SD), United People's Party (ZSL)). There was also no opposition party in Poland since all of the political groupings had to support the program of the PZPR.^[1] Therefore no real opposition candidates were permitted to run in the elections,^[2] but in theory the Polish voters could have stripped the communists from their claimed legitimacy - by abstaining from vote - and also could have prevented PZPR itself from obtaining a political victory (if all of PZPR candidates were striked out, only 100 could have been elected).^[1] Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP) is a Polish news agency. ... Stronnictwo Demokratyczne (Democratic Party, SD) is a Polish centrist party established on April 15, 1939. ... Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe (United Peoples Party, abbr. ...

Thus despite the lack of genuine opposition, the liberalized elections format allowed for various power struggles, primarily inside the communist party itself, to be played out;^[5] particularly notable was the rivalry between certain candidates from the main communist party (Polish United Workers' Party - PZPR) and one of the lesser communist parties (United People's Party - ZSL).^[5] The Polish United Workers Party (PUWP; in Polish, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR), was the governing political party in communist_ruled Poland from its creation (through a fusion of the communist Polish Workers Party and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party) in December 1948 until the regimes electoral... Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe (United Peoples Party, abbr. ...

To ensure victory, a day before the elections, Gomułka appealed to Polish citizens not to vote against the Party's candidates as 'crossing them out would equal crossing Poland off the map of Europe'^[2] and would bring upon Poland the fate of Hungary.^[1] Gomułka also persuaded the Catholic Church to urge voters to go to the polls and declare a vote of confidence in the government,^[1] Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński himself officially declared his support for the 'no crossing' policy.^[2] Combatants Soviet Union; ÁVH (Hungarian State Security Police) Ad hoc local Hungarian militias Commanders Ivan Konev Various independent militia leaders Strength 150,000 troops, 6,000 tanks Unknown number of militia and soldiers Casualties 722 killed, 1,251 wounded[1] 2,500 killed 13,000 wounded[2] The Hungarian Revolution... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... Stefan WyszyÅ„ski Cardinal Stefan WyszyÅ„ski (1901-1981) was the Archbishop of Warsaw and Gniezno from 1949 to 1981. ...

Election results

Election results (by-elections not included).

The elections were originally planned for the end of 1956 but due to significant political changes in the government they were delayed till the beginning of 1957.

The PZPR won 237 seats out of 459,^[1] while the rest went to satellite parties (Democratic Party (SD), United People's Party (ZSL)) and a few independents.^[3][1] PZPR with 237 won 51.7% of the seats,^[1] ZSL with 119^[3] or 120^[1][4] had 26.1%, 'independents' with 63 had 14% ('non-party faction', 51, and 'Catholics', 12)^[1] and SD with 39 had 8.5%.^[3][1] The Polish United Workers Party (PUWP; in Polish, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR), was the governing political party in communist_ruled Poland from its creation (through a fusion of the communist Polish Workers Party and the left wing of the Polish Socialist Party) in December 1948 until the regimes electoral... Stronnictwo Demokratyczne (Democratic Party, SD) is a Polish centrist party established on April 15, 1939. ... Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe (United Peoples Party, abbr. ...

According to official data, turnout was 94.14%^[1][2] (somewhat suspect considering heavy snowfalls and unfavorable weather conditions prevailing in Poland at the time)^[1], and 98.4% of votes were cast for official candidates.^[2]

The new Sejm had its first session on 20 February. Its Senior marshal was Bolesław Drobner; its Sejm marshal was Czesław Wycech. Several by-elections were held after the main election. Two bye-elections took place on March 17, 1957 at Nowy Sącz due to the fact that none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority in January; and at Wieluń on May 5, 1957 to replace the incumbent who had died – on February 5th. These supplementary elections were won by the PZPR and the ZSL respectively.^[1] Two other by-elections took place in 1958, on 19 October, in Myślenice and Oleśnica. Marszałek sejmu (Sejm Marshal, Marshal of the Sejm) is the title of the Speaker (chair) of Sejm the lower house of Polish parliament since the 15th century. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nowy SÄ…cz town in southern Poland; less often an administrative district (powiat) surrounding the town. ... WieluÅ„ is a town in central Poland with 25,500 inhabitants (1995). ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MY or my can mean: Wiktionary has a definition of: MY my, the first-person possessive adjective in the English language Burmese language (ISO 639 alpha-2, my) Malaysia (ISO country code, MY) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... OleÅ›nica (German Oels or Öls. ...

The previous elections in Poland were the 1952 elections. The next ones were the 1961 elections.

See also

• Polish legislative election, 1947 - first elections under the communist regime in Poland
• Polish legislative election, 1989 - last elections under the communust regime in Poland

The Polish legislative election, 1947 was held on January 19, 1947 in the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... Contract Sejm (Polish: ) is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_corrected_(bordered). ... Satirical drawing from Hasło Łódzkie newspaper, 5 October 1930. ... The Polish legislative election, 1947 was held on January 19, 1947 in the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... Contract Sejm (Polish: ) is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. ... Sejm election Senat election Categories: Politics of Poland | 1991 elections | Elections in Poland | 1991 in Poland ... Sejm election German Minority - 4 MPs Senat election Categories: Politics of Poland | 1993 elections | Elections in Poland | 1993 in Poland ... Sejm election German Minority - 2 MPs Senat election Categories: Politics of Poland | 1997 elections | Elections in Poland ... Sejm election German Minority - 2 MPs Senat election Categories: Politics of Poland | 2001 elections | Elections in Poland ... Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_corrected_(bordered). ... Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday November 25 (1st round), and Sunday December 9, 1990 (2n round). ... Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday November 5 (1st round), and Sunday November 19, 1990 (2n round). ... Presidential elections were held in Poland on Sunday October 8. ... Presidential elections were held in Poland on October 9 and October 23, 2005. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_corrected_(bordered). ... Peoples referendum (referendum ludowe) of 1946, also know as 3 times YES (3 razy TAK) was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa) (order of 27 April 1946). ...

References

External links

• (Polish) Sławomir Iwaniuk, Białorusini w wyborach do Sejmu PRL II kadencji 1957 roku
• (Polish) List of members of Polish Sejm from 1957 to 1961 on Polish Wikipedia

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
• (Polish) Paweł Machcewicz, Kampania wyborcza i wybory do Sejmu 20 stycznia 1957 roku, Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, 2000, ISBN: 83-7059-369-0