1947 Polish parliamentary election in the context of "Sham election"

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⭐ Core Definition: 1947 Polish parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 19 January 1947, the first since World War II. According to the official results, the Democratic Bloc (Blok Demokratyczny), dominated by the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and also including the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), People's Party (SL), Democratic Party (SD), and non-partisan candidates officially received 80% of the vote and 394 of the 444 seats in the Legislative Sejm. The largest opposition party, the Polish People's Party, was officially credited with 28 seats; however, the elections were characterized by violence; anti-Communist opposition candidates and activists were persecuted by the Volunteer Reserve Militia (ORMO).

The elections were heavily manipulated, and the opposition claimed that it would have won in a landslide had the election been conducted in a fair manner. The election gave the Soviets, as well as the Communist-dominated Polish satellite government, enough legitimacy to claim that Poland was "free and democratic", thus allowing Poland to sign the charter of the United Nations.

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1947 Polish parliamentary election in the context of Polish People's Republic

The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.

The Polish People's Republic was a unitary communist state established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from German occupation in World War II. Communist control was strengthened through electoral fraud in the 1946 Polish people's referendum and the 1947 Polish parliamentary election. The Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) became the dominant political faction in a one-party state, but the country had more liberal policies than other socialist states due to its strategic location in the Cold War and internal opposition. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" (Rzeczpospolita Polska) between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. The Polish People's Republic was dissolved following the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1990 Polish presidential election, but the post-communist Third Polish Republic retained the 1952 constitution, with amendments, until the introduction of the current constitution on 17 October 1997, abolishing the socialist structure entirely and replacing it with a parliamentary system that has remained in place to the present-day.

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1947 Polish parliamentary election in the context of Legislative Sejm (1947-1952)

Legislative Sejm (Polish: Sejm Ustawodawczy) was the first national parliament (Sejm) of the newly created Polish People's Republic. It was elected in the 1947 Polish parliamentary election, the first since World War II. The first Legislative Sejm was formed in the aftermath of World War I on the territories of the newly formed Second Polish Republic.

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1947 Polish parliamentary election in the context of People's Republic of Poland

The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1944–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.

The Polish People's Republic was a unitary communist state established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from German occupation in World War II. Communist control was strengthened through electoral fraud in the 1946 Polish people's referendum and the 1947 Polish parliamentary election. The Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) became the dominant political faction in a one-party state, but the country had more liberal policies than other socialist states due to its strategic location in the Cold War and internal opposition. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" (Rzeczpospolita Polska) between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. The Polish People's Republic was dissolved following the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1990 Polish presidential election, but the post-communist Third Polish Republic retained the 1952 constitution, with amendments, until the introduction of the current constitution on 17 October 1997, abolishing the socialist structure entirely and replacing it with a parliamentary system that has remained in place to the present-day.

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