Presidential election in Poland in 1989

The 1989 presidential election in Poland was the election of the Polish head of state, which was the last time that a body, the Polish National Assembly, took place. On July 19, 1989 in Warsaw she elected the previous chairman of the State Council and chairman of the Polish United Workers' Party (PVAP), General Wojciech Jaruzelski , for a five-year term as President of the People's Republic of Poland .

background

After the so-called “ agreement election” of the Polish parliament on June 4 and 18, 1989, which was free in relation to the re-formed Senate , but free for the Sejm only for a limited number of MPs and otherwise reserved for the PVAP and bloc parties despite the overwhelming success of the opposition " Solidarność " the government over the majority in the National Assembly, which is formed from the Senate and Sejm. This majority should be sufficient to fill the new or newly created presidential office with the PVAP candidate in accordance with the agreement with the opposition .

The vote

The candidate

Wojciech Jaruzelski (around 1980)

The President of the State Council, who has been in office since 1985, Wojciech Jaruzelski, was also First Secretary of the PVAP and Commander-in-Chief of the Army with the rank of “ General of the Army ”. Prior to that, he was Prime Minister (1981–1985) and, even earlier, Defense Minister for several years (1968–1981). He began his long military career as a frontline soldier in World War II . Jaruzelski, who was the only candidate, initially declined to run at the beginning of July 1989 and proposed Czesław Kiszczak . After several negotiations with the opposition, he decided the day before the election to take part. It was formally proposed by MP Marian Orzechowski (PVAP).

The opposition did not put up its own candidate. At the same time, attempts were made to make Jaruzelski's candidacy to fail through meetings with smaller bloc parties, the ZSL and the SD . Ultimately, a compromise solution was entered into with the motto formulated by Adam Michnik: "Your President - our Prime Minister". It envisaged a kind of cohabitation between President Jaruzelski and Tadeusz Mazowiecki as prime minister from the ranks of "Solidarność".

The vote

The National Assembly, reintroduced after its abolition in 1935, met under the chairmanship of Sejm Marshal Mikołaj Kozakiewicz . Since there was only one candidate for election, the vote was either for or against . The election was broadcast live on state television .

Warsaw, July 19, 1989

Ballot	candidate	Number of votes	%	Supporting parties
1st ballot	For Wojciech Jaruzelski	270	50.28%	Polish United Workers Party , United Peasants Party , Democratic Party
	Against Wojciech Jaruzelski	233	43.39%	" Solidarność "
	Abstentions	34	6.33%
Thus Wojciech Jaruzelski was elected President of the VR Poland with the necessary majority in the first ballot.

After the election

Jaruzelski then made an oath of office to the National Assembly and addressed it with a speech. The extremely narrow majority with which Jaruzelski won the election caused a stir. A week later, Jaruzelski resigned from the PVAP, which dissolved itself in the course of the system change on January 30, 1990.

Jaruzelski's official title was changed by a constitutional amendment on December 30, 1989 to "President of the Republic of Poland", without the need for further electoral processes. Another constitutional amendment shortened his term of office to December 1990 so that an early presidential election could take place, in which Lech Wałęsa was finally elected as the new president by free and secret popular election .

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b} Diariusz. In: Wojciech Jaruzelski, website. Retrieved December 18, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Uchwała Zgromadzenia Narodowego z dnia 19 lipca 1989 r. w sprawie wyboru Prezydenta Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej. In: Monitor Polski, sejm.gov.pl. July 19, 1989. Retrieved December 18, 2012 . 
3. ↑ Jaruzelski prezydentem. In: Polskie Radio . July 19, 2012, accessed December 18, 2012 . 
4. ↑ Ustawa z dnia 29 grudnia 1989 r. o zmianie Konstytucji Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej. In: Dziennik Ustaw, sejm.gov.pl. December 31, 1989, accessed December 18, 2012 .