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1985 Polish parliamentary election: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox election
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1985 Polish legislative election
| country = Poland
| country = Poland
| type = legislative
| type = legislative
⚫
| previous_election = 1980 Polish parliamentary election
| ongoing = no
⚫
| previous_election = 1980 Polish legislative election
| previous_year = 1980
| previous_year = 1980
| next_election = 1989 Polish legislative election
| next_election = 1989 Polish parliamentary election
| next_year = 1989
| next_year = 1989
| seats_for_election = All 460 seats in the [[Sejm]]
| seats_for_election = All 460 seats in the [[Sejm]]
| majority_seats = 231
| election_date = {{Start date|df=yes|1985|10|13}}
| election_date = {{Start date|df=yes|1985|10|13}}
| image_size = 130x130px


| image1 = [[File:Wojciech Jaruzelski 1987.jpg|150x150px]]
| image1 = Wojciech Jaruzelski 1987.jpg
| leader1 = [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]]
| leader1 = [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]]
| leader_since1 =18 October 1981
| party1 = Polish United Workers' Party
| party1 = Polish United Workers' Party
| leaders_seat1 =
| leaders_seat1 =
Line 20: Line 20:
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 16
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 16


| image2 =[[File:Poseł Roman Malinowski IX kadencja.jpg|150x150px]]
| image2 = Roman Malinowski.jpg
| leader2 = [[Roman Malinowski]]
| leader2 = [[Roman Malinowski]]
| leader_since2 = 1981
| party2 = United People's Party (Poland)
| party2 = United People's Party (Poland)
| leaders_seat2 =
| leaders_seat2 =
Line 29: Line 28:
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 7
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 7


| image3 =[[File:Tadeusz Witold Młyńczak.jpg|150x150px]]
| image3 = Tadeusz Witold Młyńczak.jpg
| leader3 = {{nowrap|[[Tadeusz Witold Młyńczak]]}}
| leader3 = [[Tadeusz Witold Młyńczak]]
| leader_since3 = 1976
| party3 = Democratic Party (Poland)
| party3 = Democratic Party (Poland)
| leaders_seat3 =
| leaders_seat3 =
Line 38: Line 36:
| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 2
| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 2
}}
}}
⚫
Parliamentary elections were held in [[Poland]] on 13 October 1985.<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> According to the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland|Constitution of 1952]] the elections should have been held every 4 years, that is in the spring of 1984, but since the internal political situation was still considered "unstable" even after the repealing in 1983 of the [[Martial law in Poland|Martial Law]], the [[Sejm]] voted to extend its own term at first indefinitely (on February 13, 1984) and then until August 31, 1985 (on December 3, 1984), fixing the elections to be held not beyond the end of 1985. As was the case in previous elections, only candidates approved by the Communist regime (coalesced under the [[Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth]], replacing the similar [[Front of National Unity]]) were permitted on the ballot. The outcome was thus not in doubt, nevertheless the regime was hoping for a high turnout, which it could then claim as evidence of strong support for the government among the population. The opposition from the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement called for a boycott of the elections. According to official figures 78.9% of the electorate turned out to vote.<ref>Nohlen & Stöver, p1503</ref> This turnout, while relatively high, was much lower than the nearly 100% turnout which was reported in previous elections.

⚫
'''Parliamentary elections''' were held in [[Poland]] on 13 October 1985.<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> According to the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland|Constitution of 1952]] the elections should have been held every 4 years, that is in the spring of 1984, but since the internal political situation was still considered "unstable" even after the repealing in 1983 of the [[Martial law in Poland|Martial Law]], the [[Sejm]] voted to extend its own term at first indefinitely (on February 13, 1984) and then until August 31, 1985 (on December 3, 1984), fixing the elections to be held not beyond the end of 1985. As was the case in previous elections, only candidates approved by the Communist regime (coalesced under the [[Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth]], replacing the similar [[Front of National Unity]]) were permitted on the ballot. The outcome was thus not in doubt, nevertheless the regime was hoping for a high turnout, which it could then claim as evidence of strong support for the government among the population. The opposition from the [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] movement called for a boycott of the elections. According to official figures 78.9% of the electorate turned out to vote.<ref>Nohlen & Stöver, p1503</ref> This turnout, while relatively high, was much lower than the nearly 100% turnout which was reported in previous elections.

⚫
The results, like with the other elections in communist Poland, were controlled by the communist government. The results of the 1985 election were duplicating, exactly, the results of the 1965 to 1972 elections, which were only marginally different from those of the preceding years.


It was the last election in Communist Poland in which no real opposition candidates were allowed to participate. The following election in 1989, in which opposition parties could put up candidates for a portion of the seats, resulted in a convincing opposition victory followed by the downfall of the Communist system.
It was the last election in Communist Poland in which no real opposition candidates were allowed to participate. The following election in 1989, in which opposition parties could put up candidates for a portion of the seats, resulted in a convincing opposition victory followed by the downfall of the Communist system.

== TV Solidarity incident ==
{{See also|Broadcast signal intrusion}}
In 1985, four college students at [[University of Toruń]] used a computer to hijack the signal of multiple state-owned television stations. They placed propagandist messages on the screen in an attempt to get the viewer to boycott the elections.<ref>{{cite web|date=2006-05-18|title=Telewizja "Solidarność" Toruń 1985|url=http://w.icm.edu.pl/tvS/tvs.htm|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206064447/http://w.icm.edu.pl/tvS/tvs.htm|archivedate=2009-12-06|accessdate=2009-07-15|publisher=w.icm.edu.pl|language=pl}}</ref>
{{Quote|text=Enough price increases, lies, and repressions. Solidarity Toruń. It is our duty to boycott the election.|author=|title=|source="Telewizja Solidarność" (TV Solidarity)}}


==Results==
==Results==
⚫
The results, like with the other elections in communist Poland, were controlled by the [[Polish People's Republic|communist government]]. The results of the 1985 election were duplicating, exactly, the results of the 1965 to 1972 elections, which were only marginally different from those of the preceding years.
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
!colspan=2|Party
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
|-
⚫
|align=left rowspan=4|[[Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth]]|| align="left" |[[Polish United Workers' Party]]||rowspan=4| ||rowspan=4| ||245||–16
|-
⚫
|align=left|[[United People's Party (Poland)|United People's Party]]||106||–7
|-
⚫
|align=left|[[Democratic Party (Poland)|Democratic Party]]||35||–2
|-
⚫
|align=left|Independents||74||+25
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Blank ballots|| || ||–||–
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Invalid votes||65,096||–||–||–
|-
|align=left colspan=2|'''Total'''||'''20,554,182'''||'''100'''||'''460'''||'''0'''
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout||26,065,497||78.9||–||–
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source: Nohlen & Stöver
⚫
|}


{{Election results
⚫
As the other parties and "independents" were in fact subordinate to PZPR, its control of the Sejm was, in fact, total.<ref name="PaczkowskiCave2003">{{cite book|author1=Andrzej Paczkowski|author2=Jane Cave|title=The spring will be ours: Poland and the Poles from occupation to freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WoKQWem2yl4C&pg=PA229|accessdate=3 June 2011|year=2003|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-02308-3|page=229}}</ref><ref name="Davies2005">{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=God's Playground: 1795 to the present|url=https://archive.org/details/godsplaygroundhi00norm_0|url-access=registration|accessdate=3 June 2011|date=May 2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12819-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/godsplaygroundhi00norm_0/page/459 459]}}</ref>
|image=[[File:Poland Sejm 1985 no borders.svg]]
⚫
|alliance1=[[Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth]]|aspan1=4|party1=[[Polish United Workers' Party]]|votes1=|seats1=245|sc1=–16|acolor1=#E3401B
⚫
|party2=[[United People's Party (Poland)|United People's Party]]|votes2=|seats2=106|sc2=–7
⚫
|party3=[[Democratic Party (Poland)|Democratic Party]]|votes3=|seats3=35|sc3=–2
⚫
|party4=Independents|votes4=|seats4=74|sc4=+25
|invalidonly=y
|valid=20489086
|invalid=65096
|total_sc=0
|electorate=26065497
|source=Nohlen & Stöver
⚫
}}

⚫
As the other parties and "independents" were subordinate to PZPR, its control of the Sejm was total.<ref name="PaczkowskiCave2003">{{cite book|author1=Andrzej Paczkowski|author2=Jane Cave|title=The spring will be ours: Poland and the Poles from occupation to freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WoKQWem2yl4C&pg=PA229|accessdate=3 June 2011|year=2003|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-02308-3|page=229}}</ref><ref name="Davies2005">{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=God's Playground: 1795 to the present|url=https://archive.org/details/godsplaygroundhi00norm_0|url-access=registration|accessdate=3 June 2011|date=May 2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12819-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/godsplaygroundhi00norm_0/page/459 459]}}</ref>

== Post-elections ==
Shortly after the elections, Jaruzelski resigned as prime minister and defence minister and became the Chairman of the [[Polish Council of State]]&nbsp;— a post equivalent to that of head of state of Poland. However, his power centered on and firmly entrenched in his coterie of "LWP" generals and lower ranks officers of the Polish Communist Army.<ref name="CIA-analysis">{{cite journal|author=CIA’s Historical Review|date=24 October 1997|title=Cold War era analysis|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/historical-collection-publications/the-warsaw-pact/warsaw-pact.pdf|url-status=dead|format=PDF file, direct download 12.2 MB|journal=Soviet – East European Military Relations in Historical Perspective Sources and Reassessments|publisher=The Historical Collections Division (HCD) of the Office of Information Management Services|volume=1|issue=1|pages=18 of 44|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124212240/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/historical-collection-publications/the-warsaw-pact/warsaw-pact.pdf|archivedate=24 November 2013|accessdate=26 May 2014}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{Polish elections}}
{{Polish elections}}


⚫
[[Category:1985 in Poland]]
[[Category:Parliamentary elections in Poland]]
[[Category:Parliamentary elections in Poland]]
[[Category:1985 elections in Europe|Poland]]
[[Category:1985 elections in Europe|Poland]]
[[Category:October 1985 events in Europe]]
[[Category:1985 elections in Poland|Parliamentary]]
⚫
[[Category:October 1985 events in Europe|Poland]]
[[Category:Elections in the Polish People's Republic]]
[[Category:Elections in the Polish People's Republic]]
[[Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results]]


{{Poland-election-stub}}

Latest revision as of 15:17, 17 October 2023

1985 Polish parliamentary election
← 1980 13 October 1985 (1985-10-13) 1989 →
All 460 seats in the Sejm
231 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Wojciech Jaruzelski Roman Malinowski Tadeusz Witold Młyńczak
Party PZPR ZSL SD
Last election 261 113 37
Seats won 245 106 39
Seat change Decrease 16 Decrease 7 Increase 2

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 1985.[1] According to the Constitution of 1952 the elections should have been held every 4 years, that is in the spring of 1984, but since the internal political situation was still considered "unstable" even after the repealing in 1983 of the Martial Law, the Sejm voted to extend its own term at first indefinitely (on February 13, 1984) and then until August 31, 1985 (on December 3, 1984), fixing the elections to be held not beyond the end of 1985. As was the case in previous elections, only candidates approved by the Communist regime (coalesced under the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth, replacing the similar Front of National Unity) were permitted on the ballot. The outcome was thus not in doubt, nevertheless the regime was hoping for a high turnout, which it could then claim as evidence of strong support for the government among the population. The opposition from the Solidarity movement called for a boycott of the elections. According to official figures 78.9% of the electorate turned out to vote.[2] This turnout, while relatively high, was much lower than the nearly 100% turnout which was reported in previous elections.

It was the last election in Communist Poland in which no real opposition candidates were allowed to participate. The following election in 1989, in which opposition parties could put up candidates for a portion of the seats, resulted in a convincing opposition victory followed by the downfall of the Communist system.

TV Solidarity incident

[edit]
See also: Broadcast signal intrusion

In 1985, four college students at University of Toruń used a computer to hijack the signal of multiple state-owned television stations. They placed propagandist messages on the screen in an attempt to get the viewer to boycott the elections.[3]

Enough price increases, lies, and repressions. Solidarity Toruń. It is our duty to boycott the election.

— "Telewizja Solidarność" (TV Solidarity)

Results

[edit]

The results, like with the other elections in communist Poland, were controlled by the communist government. The results of the 1985 election were duplicating, exactly, the results of the 1965 to 1972 elections, which were only marginally different from those of the preceding years.

Party or allianceVotes%Seats+/–
Patriotic Movement for National RebirthPolish United Workers' Party245–16
United People's Party106–7
Democratic Party35–2
Independents74+25
Total4600
Valid votes20,489,08699.68
Invalid votes65,0960.32
Total votes20,554,182100.00
Registered voters/turnout26,065,49778.86
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

As the other parties and "independents" were subordinate to PZPR, its control of the Sejm was total.[4][5]

Post-elections

[edit]

Shortly after the elections, Jaruzelski resigned as prime minister and defence minister and became the Chairman of the Polish Council of State — a post equivalent to that of head of state of Poland. However, his power centered on and firmly entrenched in his coterie of "LWP" generals and lower ranks officers of the Polish Communist Army.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1491 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1503
  3. ^ "Telewizja "Solidarność" Toruń 1985" (in Polish). w.icm.edu.pl. 2006-05-18. Archived from the original on 2009-12-06. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  4. ^ Andrzej Paczkowski; Jane Cave (2003). The spring will be ours: Poland and the Poles from occupation to freedom. Penn State Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-271-02308-3. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  5. ^ Norman Davies (May 2005). God's Playground: 1795 to the present. Columbia University Press. p. 459. ISBN 978-0-231-12819-3. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  6. ^ CIA’s Historical Review (24 October 1997). "Cold War era analysis" (PDF). Soviet – East European Military Relations in Historical Perspective Sources and Reassessments. 1 (1). The Historical Collections Division (HCD) of the Office of Information Management Services: 18 of 44. Archived from the original (PDF file, direct download 12.2 MB) on 24 November 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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