Polish legislative election of 1989

E162336

The Polish legislative election of 1989 was a landmark semi-free vote that led to the collapse of communist rule in Poland and paved the way for democratic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf historical event
parliamentary election
consequence acceleration of democratic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe
appointment of Tadeusz Mazowiecki as prime minister
collapse of communist rule in Poland
formation of first non-communist government in Eastern Bloc
inspiration for other opposition movements in Eastern Europe
continent Europe
country Poland
electoralSystem partially competitive election
semi-free election
endDate 1989-06-18
followedBy Polish parliamentary election of 1991
hasPart 1989 Sejm election
1989 Senate election in Poland
historicalSignificance considered a breakthrough in the fall of the Eastern Bloc
first semi-free parliamentary election in the Eastern Bloc after World War II
keyFigure Lech Wałęsa
Mieczysław Rakowski
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Wojciech Jaruzelski
legalFramework Round Table Agreement
legislativeBodyElected Sejm of the Polish People’s Republic
linked to: Sejm

Senate of the Republic of Poland
linked to: Senate of Poland
location Poland
mainOpposition Citizens’ Committee "Solidarity"
Solidarity
linked to: Solidarność
oppositionVictoryInContestedSejmSeats almost all freely contested Sejm seats won by Solidarity-backed candidates
oppositionVictoryInSenate 99 of 100 seats won by Solidarity-backed candidates
organizedBy Polish United Workers’ Party
communist authorities of the Polish People’s Republic
partOf Polish political transformation of 1989
collapse of Eastern Bloc
democratic transition in Central and Eastern Europe
politicalSystemContext Polish People’s Republic
precededBy Polish legislative election of 1985
relatedEvent Polish Round Table Talks
fall of the Berlin Wall
result defeat of ruling communist coalition in freely contested races
delegitimization of communist rule in Poland
landslide victory for Solidarity in contested seats
seatsContested Sejm 460
Senate 100
seatsFreelyContestedInSejm 35%
seatsReservedForCommunistCampInSejm 65%
senateSeatsFreelyContested 100%
startDate 1989-06-04
timePeriod late Cold War
voterTurnoutFirstRound high
voterTurnoutSecondRound lower than first round

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Round Table Talks of 1989 significantEvent Polish legislative election of 1989
Round Table Talks of 1989 followedBy Polish legislative election of 1989
Revolutions of 1989 hasPart Polish parliamentary elections of June 1989
linked to: Polish legislative election of 1989
Polish Round Table Agreement followedBy Polish legislative election, 1989
linked to: Polish legislative election of 1989
Polish legislative election of 1989 partOf Polish political transformation of 1989
linked to: Polish legislative election of 1989
Polish legislative election of 1989 hasPart 1989 Sejm election
linked to: Polish legislative election of 1989