%0 Journal Article
%T The Attitude of Party Leadership to the 1989 Elections in Light of the Files of the Provincial Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party in Lublin
%A Bednarczyk, Ewa
%J Studia Archiwalne
%V 2019
%R 10.4467/17347513SA.19.004.14559
%N Vol. 6
%P 77-87
%K NSZZ (Independent Self-Governing Trade Union) “Solidarity”, PUWP, elections of 1989, Round Table.
%@ 1734-7513
%D 2019
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/studia-archiwalne/article/kierownictwo-partyjne-wobec-wyborow-z-4-czerwca-1989-r-w-swietle-akt-komitetu-wojewodzkiego-polskiej-zjednoczonej-partii-robotniczej-w-lublinie
%X In 1989, the communists agreed to hold partly free elections in Poland. It was decided to minimize the number of the government-backed MP candidates, and to propose possibly many candidates where the seats were not reserved for representatives of the then ruling parties. The idea was to not disperse votes for the government side but at the same time to disintegrate the election for opposition. The elections within the Polish United Workers’ Party (PUWP) would also be held according to new rules. Parliamentary candidates would be selected from among those who were actually active for their fellow citizens and looked good in the media. As regards the “Solidarity”-backed candidates, a list of so-called “difficult questions” and other measures was compiled, which were to make their campaign difficult. Nevertheless, the election results were a shock to the PUWP side. The blame was laid on the United Peasants’ Party and the Democratic Party for allowing the opposition candidates to run on their tickets, and on the Round Table participants for not keeping the agreement.