Editing Elections in Poland (section)

===End of Communist rule===
====1989 parliamentary elections====
{{main|1989 Polish legislative election}}{{see also|Contract Sejm}}

1989 Parliamentary Election: the [[Polish Round Table Agreement]] produced a partly open parliamentary election. The June election produced a [[Sejm]] (lower house), in which one-third of the seats went to communists and one-third went to the two parties which had hitherto been their coalition partners. The remaining one-third of the seats in the Sejm and all those in the [[Senate of Poland|Senate]] were freely contested; the majority of these were by candidates supported by [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]]. Jaruzelski was elected by the Sejm as [[President of Poland]].

The [[1990 Polish local elections|May 1990 local elections]] were entirely free. Candidates supported by Solidarity's Citizens' Committees won most of the elections they contested, although voter turnout was only a little over 40%. The cabinet was reshuffled in July 1990; the national defence and interior affairs ministers (hold-overs from the previous communist government) were among those replaced.

====1990 presidential election====
{{main|1990 Polish presidential election}}

In October 1990, the constitution was amended to curtail the term of President Jaruzelski. In December, [[Lech Wałęsa]] became the first popularly elected President of Poland.

====1991 parliamentary election====
{{main|1991 Polish parliamentary election}}

Poland's [[1991 Polish parliamentary election|first free parliamentary elections]] were held in 1991. More than 100 parties participated, representing the full spectrum of political views. No single party received more than 13% of the total vote.

====1993 parliamentary election====
{{main|1993 Polish parliamentary election}}

After a rough start, the [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|second group of elections]] were held in 1993, and the first parliament to serve a full term. The [[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|Democratic Left Alliance]] (SLD) received the largest share of votes.

After the election, the SLD and [[Polish People's Party]] (PSL) formed a governing coalition. [[Waldemar Pawlak]], leader of the junior partner PSL, became prime minister, later replaced by SLD's leader [[Józef Oleksy]].

====1995 presidential election====
{{main|1995 Polish presidential election}}

In November 1995, Poland held its [[1995 Polish presidential election|second post-war free presidential election]]. SLD leader [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]] defeated Wałęsa by a narrow margin—51.7% to 48.3%.

====1997 parliamentary election====
{{main|1997 Polish parliamentary election}}

In 1997 [[1997 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]] two parties with roots in the Solidarity movement – [[Solidarity Electoral Action]] (AWS) and the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]] (UW) – won 261 of the 460 seats in the Sejm and formed a coalition government. [[Jerzy Buzek]] of the AWS became prime minister.  The AWS and the Democratic Left Allianc (SLD) held the majority of the seats in the Sejm. [[Marian Krzaklewski]] was the leader of the AWS, and [[Leszek Miller]] led the SLD. In June 2000, UW withdrew from the governing coalition, leaving AWS at the helm of a minority government.