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Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 20 January 1957.〔Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 ISBN 9783832956097〕 They were the second election to the Sejm – the bicameral parliament of the People's Republic of Poland, and the third ever in the history of Communist Poland. It took place during the liberalization period, following Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power. Although freer than previous elections, they were not a free election. Polish voters of 1957 were given the right to vote ''against'' some official candidates; ''de facto'' having a small chance to express a vote of no confidence against the government and the Party, but no possibility to elect any real opposition, whose members were not allowed to run in the elections. The elections resulted in a predictable victory for the Front of National Unity coalition dominated by the ruling Polish communist party – the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), and communist leader, Władysław Gomułka. The elections, while victorious for Gomułka, did not guarantee lasting changes in the Polish society. The new regime was much more liberal than its Stalinist predecessor, and enjoyed moderate support during the first few years after the election in the "little stabilization" period of 1957–1963. However, by mid-1960s it faced opposition from the competing factions in the communist party itself. Coupled with growing popular opposition to the communist rule, Gomułka would be removed from power in the aftermath of the 1968 political crisis and the Polish 1970 protests. The previous elections in Poland were held in 1952. These were followed by the 1961 elections. ==Background== The elections were originally planned for the December of 1956 but due to significant political changes in the government, resulting from Władysław Gomułka's ascension to power, they were delayed until early 1957.〔 Sławomir Iwaniuk, (Białorusini w wyborach do Sejmu PRL II kadencji 1957 roku ), Białoruskie Zeszyty Historycznye Nr 6, pod red. E. Mironowicza, Białystok 1996, str. 130-165〕 Among the various promises made by First Secretary Gomułka, during the Polish October peaceful revolution, to the restless Polish population was that of free elections. He knew that this was a promise that he could not keep without seeing his party defeated. In the January 1957 elections the new 'democratic' aspect was the reintroduction of the secret ballot,〔 and more importantly, there were more candidates than available seats in the parliament;〔〔 Bartłomiej Kozłowski, (Wybory styczniowe do Sejmu 1957 ) Last accessed on 5 April 2007〕 in the 1952 elections the number of candidates equaled the number of seats in the Sejm.〔〔 Another liberalizing factor was that unlike in previous elections, intimidation by the secret police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa) and the government against the opposition was limited.〔Richard F. Staar, ''Elections in Communist Poland'', Midwest Journal of Political Science, Vol. 2, No. 2 (May, 1958), pp. 200-218, (JSTOR )〕 The candidates were divided into two groups - one officially supported by the party and the 'independents' (broadly following the communist party line but not declared members of the party).〔 The latter would be only considered if over half of the registered voters in the district voted against the official candidates; otherwise all seats from the district (on average between 3 to 6) would be awarded to the official candidates.〔 Over 60,000 candidates were registered for the 459 seats in the Sejm.〔〔 The government was not prepared to release its hold on power, so the candidates were screened and only 720〔 or 723〔 out of 60,000 were finally allowed to participate and be published on the official list by the Front of National Unity ((ポーランド語:Front Jedności Narodu, FJN)), the only organization allowed to put forth candidates in Polish elections.〔 (Front Jedności Narodu ) in WIEM Encyklopedia〕〔 (Front Jedności Narodu ) in Encyklopedia PWN〕 Factors such as the number of signatures in support of a candidate were deemed to be irrelevant.〔 According to an official government press agency dispatch, about half of the candidates (appox. 360) were PZPR members.〔 A majority of the remainder belonged to PZPR allies (Democratic Party (SD), United People's Party (ZSL)). There was no opposition party in Poland since all political groupings had to support the program of the PZPR.〔 As a result, no real opposition candidates were permitted to run in the elections, but in theory the Polish voters could have stripped the communists from their claimed legitimacy by abstaining from voting.〔〔 Another means of preventing the PZPR from obtaining a political victory would have occurred if all of the PZPR candidates were struck out, leaving only 100 to be elected.〔 Despite the lack of genuine opposition, the liberalized election format allowed for various power struggles to be played out, primarily between the communist party candidates.〔Paweł Machcewicz, Kampania wyborcza i wybory do Sejmu 20 stycznia 1957 roku, Wydawnictwo Sejmowe, 2000, ISBN 83-7059-369-0 (blurb)〕 A particularly notable case was the rivalry between certain candidates from the main communist party (PZPR) and one of the lesser communist parties (ZSL).〔 A day before the elections, Gomułka appealed to Polish citizens not to vote against the Party's candidates, asserting that 'crossing them out would equal crossing Poland off the map of Europe'〔 and would bring upon Poland the fate of Hungary.〔 The fear of a possible Soviet intervention, in case of Gomułka's loss, was also repeated by Radio Free Europe, which noted that Gomułka's argument while "cruel", is likely "entirely correct." Gomułka also persuaded the Catholic Church to urge voters to go to the polls and declare a vote of confidence in the government.〔 Supporting him, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński officially declared his support for the 'no crossing' policy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Polish legislative election, 1957」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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