Presidential election in Poland 1947

The presidential election in Poland in 1947 was the first election of the head of state in Poland after World War II . The Sejm elected Bolesław Bierut in Warsaw on February 5, 1947 for a seven-year term as President of the Republic of Poland .

background

With the end of World War II, Polish statehood was restored with the help and tutelage of the USSR . In July 1945 the Warsaw-based government achieved largely international recognition, which, with a few exceptions, was withdrawn from the so-called London government . The Soviet-dominated Warsaw government began to restore the public administration institutions. On the one hand, some politicians in exile and parties from the political center were also formally involved in order to legitimize their internal and external relations. The parliamentary elections took place on January 19, 1947 - accompanied by intimidation and, in some cases, obvious election fraud . On the one hand, as one wanted to distance oneself from the institutions connected with the bourgeois government, a new constitutional law on the election of the president was passed on February 4th. The National Assembly that had previously elected the presidents was abolished as early as 1935. Now the Sejm should determine the head of state. On the other hand, in order to calm down the critical forces, the presidential vow (instead of the previous oath) provided for a religious affirmation.

The vote

The candidate

Bolesław Bierut

Because of the distribution of seats in the Sejm, the outcome of the election was foreseeable. The only candidate proposed for the election of the President of the Republic of Poland was Bolesław Bierut, the previous chairman of the National Council (1944–1947), the provisional government, and thus the collective head of state. As a communist and, for a time, a Soviet citizen, the newly elected Sejm deputy, printer, merchant and cooperative enjoyed the full confidence of Stalin . Officially, he did not belong to any party.

The vote

The secret ballot by the Sejm was held under the chairmanship of Sejm Marshal Władysław Kowalski .

Warsaw, February 5, 1947

Ballot	candidate	Number of votes	%	Supporting parties
1st ballot	Bolesław Bierut	419	94.4%	PPS , PPR , SD , Peasant Party , SP , Polish Peasant Party "New Liberation"
	Abstentions (blank ballot papers)	24	5.4%	Polish Peasant Party
	Invalid votes	1	0.2%
So Bolesław Bierut was elected without dissenting votes.

After the election

Bierut then made an official oath with religious affirmation to the Sejm. On the same day at 3 p.m. Bierut resigned from his seat and took over the presidency in the presence of the Sejm Marshal and Prime Minister Edward Osóbka-Morawski .

In 1948 Bierut formally joined the PVAP , during which time the Stalinist terror intensified . Since the constitution of July 22, 1952 abolished the office of President in favor of the expanded powers of the Council of State based on the Soviet model, Bierut's term of office ended prematurely. The next election of the president took place on July 19, 1989 after the re-establishment of the office.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Ustawa konstytucyjna z dnia 4 lutego 1947 r. o wyborze Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej. In: Dzennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. February 4, 1947, accessed December 11, 2012 .  
2. ↑ Protokół objęcia władzy przez Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Bolesława Bieruta. In: Monitor Polski, sejm.gov.pl. February 5, 1947, accessed December 11, 2012 .