Indirect presidential elections were held in Poland on 19 July 1989. The elections were the first after the office of President of the Republic of Poland had been re-established after a period of Communist rule and were the last in which the President was elected by Parliament (joint houses of the Sejm and Senate). Despite adoption of the democratic system there was only one candidate.
After the Round Table Agreement, which resulted in a semi-free parliamentary election, marked by effective Solidarity victory and de facto loss of the Polish United Workers' Party, on July 4, 1989, Adam Michnik proposed a power-sharing deal between communist and the democratic opposition (Your President, our Prime Minister), according to which Chairman of the Council of State and Communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski would become president and a Solidarity representative would become Prime Minister (this position indeed went to Tadeusz Mazowiecki in August, albeit after an attempt by Jaruzelski to impose fellow PZPR member Czesław Kiszczak as Prime Minister). After much debate within both camps this conception won.
Jaruzelski ran unopposed, but won by just a one-vote majority needed, as many Solidarity MPs, while supporting the agreement, felt just unable to cast their votes or, to not disturb the process, cast abstain or invalid votes.
Electoral system The President was elected by the National Assembly, a joint sitting of the Sejm and the Senate, by open ballot. The members of the Assembly were elected in the 1989 Polish parliamentary election; although 460 deputies and 100 senators (making 560 electors) had been elected, senator died before the presidential election and his replacement was yet to be chosen.
The composition of the National Assembly was as follows: ++ Parliamentary group Sejm Senate Totals Civic Parliamentary Club16198259 Polish United Workers' Party 173 — 173 United People's Party 76 — 76 Alliance of Democrats 27 — 27 PAX Association 10 — 10Christian-Social Union 8 — 8Polish Catholic-Social Association 5 — 5PRON-aligned nonpartisan — 1 1 Vacant seat — 1 1+Total460100 (99)560 (559)
Results
By party
CandidateTotal votesVotes by partyPZPROKPZSLSDPAXUChSPZKSPRON Wojciech Jaruzelski2701711542010851 Against233122264 Abstention3418133 Invalid votes77 Not present151113 Total Yes/No503172233602410851 Total valid537172241732710851 Total votes544172248732710851Source: Sejm Stenogram
Notes