Polish presidential election, 2005
Encyclopedia
The 2005 Presidential elections were held in Poland
on October 9 and October 23, 2005. The outgoing President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, had served two five-year terms and was unable to stand for a third term. Lech Kaczyński
defeated Donald Tusk
to become President of Poland.
-right candidates, Donald Tusk
, chairman of the Civic Platform
party (PO), and Lech Kaczyński
, leader of the Law and Justice
party (PiS) and mayor of Warsaw
, led the poll in the first round, as was widely expected. As neither received 50 percent of the vote, a second round was held on 23 October. In this round, Kaczyński defeated Tusk, polling 54.04 percent of the vote.
Although both leading candidates came from the center-right, and their two parties had planned to form a coalition government following the legislative elections on 25 September, there were important differences between Tusk and Kaczyński. Tusk is considered somewhat more socially and economically liberal, favoring more rapid European integration
and a free-market economy. Kaczyński is more socially conservative, in the tradition of post-Communist Poland's first President, Lech Wałęsa
, and is skeptical of the European Union
. Such differences led to the failure of PiS-PO coalition talks in late October.
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, the candidate of the Alliance of the Democratic Left, which was the governing party before the legislative election withdrew from the race on September 14. At the time he withdrew he was third in the polls, still having the most chances to get to the second round (besides Kaczyński and Tusk).
Other candidates, who withdrew from the elections, but initially have signed to, were Zbigniew Religa
and Maciej Giertych
. Daniel Tomasz Podrzycki
, who have also signed, died in an accident before the elections.
Ten people had registered themselves in election procedure, but failed to gather 100,000 support signatures: Arnold Buzdygan, Stanisław Ceberek, Gabriel Janowski
, Jan Antoni Kiełb, Waldemar Janusz Kossakowski, Marian Romuald Rembelski, Zbigniew Roliński, Sławomir Salomon, Maria Szyszkowska
, Bolesław Tejkowski.
The figure of Józef Tusk
, grandfather of current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
, was in the center of the "Wehrmacht affair" over his brief period of service after being drafted into the German army
during the late stages of World War II
, which was the biggest controversy of the election.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
on October 9 and October 23, 2005. The outgoing President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, had served two five-year terms and was unable to stand for a third term. Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
defeated Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
to become President of Poland.
Background
Two centerCentrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
-right candidates, Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
, chairman of the Civic Platform
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
party (PO), and Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
, leader of the Law and Justice
Law and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
party (PiS) and mayor of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, led the poll in the first round, as was widely expected. As neither received 50 percent of the vote, a second round was held on 23 October. In this round, Kaczyński defeated Tusk, polling 54.04 percent of the vote.
Although both leading candidates came from the center-right, and their two parties had planned to form a coalition government following the legislative elections on 25 September, there were important differences between Tusk and Kaczyński. Tusk is considered somewhat more socially and economically liberal, favoring more rapid European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
and a free-market economy. Kaczyński is more socially conservative, in the tradition of post-Communist Poland's first President, Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
, and is skeptical of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Such differences led to the failure of PiS-PO coalition talks in late October.
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, the candidate of the Alliance of the Democratic Left, which was the governing party before the legislative election withdrew from the race on September 14. At the time he withdrew he was third in the polls, still having the most chances to get to the second round (besides Kaczyński and Tusk).
Other candidates, who withdrew from the elections, but initially have signed to, were Zbigniew Religa
Zbigniew Religa
Zbigniew Eugeniusz Religa was a prominent cardiac surgeon and politician.- Career as physician :Religa finished his studies at the Medical University of Warsaw in 1963. From 1966 to 1980 he worked in the Szpital Wolski in Warsaw, where he qualified in surgery...
and Maciej Giertych
Maciej Giertych
Maciej Marian Giertych is a Polish dendrologist and social conservative politician of the League of Polish Families . He favours state intervention in the economy. He was a member of the Sejm and a Polish member of the European Parliament...
. Daniel Tomasz Podrzycki
Daniel Podrzycki
Daniel Tomasz Podrzycki , was a Polish socialist politician.His career began from participation in the activity of illegal students' circles of Warsaw, which appeared at the end of the Seventies and were oriented at the beginning on the diccident Committee on Defending the Workers and later on the...
, who have also signed, died in an accident before the elections.
Ten people had registered themselves in election procedure, but failed to gather 100,000 support signatures: Arnold Buzdygan, Stanisław Ceberek, Gabriel Janowski
Gabriel Janowski
Gabriel Janowski – Polish politician, activist of opposition in People's Republic of Poland, senator of the first term of office of Senate of the Republic of Poland, MP of first, third and fourth term of office of Sejm, from 1991 do 1993 the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.On 20...
, Jan Antoni Kiełb, Waldemar Janusz Kossakowski, Marian Romuald Rembelski, Zbigniew Roliński, Sławomir Salomon, Maria Szyszkowska
Maria Szyszkowska
Maria Szyszkowska is a Polish academic, writer and former Senator. Szyszkowska was a member of the SLD and chaired that Party's Ethics Committee...
, Bolesław Tejkowski.
The figure of Józef Tusk
Józef Tusk
Józef Tusk was the grandfather of the current Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. During World War II, he served as a forced laborer in Germany, and was imprisoned in a concentration camp...
, grandfather of current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
, was in the center of the "Wehrmacht affair" over his brief period of service after being drafted into the German army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
during the late stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which was the biggest controversy of the election.
Withdrawn
- Zbigniew ReligaZbigniew ReligaZbigniew Eugeniusz Religa was a prominent cardiac surgeon and politician.- Career as physician :Religa finished his studies at the Medical University of Warsaw in 1963. From 1966 to 1980 he worked in the Szpital Wolski in Warsaw, where he qualified in surgery...
- senator, prominent cardiac surgeonCardiac surgeonA cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who performs cardiac surgery—operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.-Training:A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from six to nine years of training to become a fully qualified surgeon...
, candidate of Centre Party. - Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz - former Prime Minister, candidate of Democratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left AllianceDemocratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
. - Maciej GiertychMaciej GiertychMaciej Marian Giertych is a Polish dendrologist and social conservative politician of the League of Polish Families . He favours state intervention in the economy. He was a member of the Sejm and a Polish member of the European Parliament...
- member of European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, candidate of League of Polish FamiliesLeague of Polish FamiliesThe League of Polish Families is a right-wing political party in Poland. It was represented in the Polish parliament, forming part of the cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński, until the latter dissolved in September 2007....
.
Dead
- Daniel PodrzyckiDaniel PodrzyckiDaniel Tomasz Podrzycki , was a Polish socialist politician.His career began from participation in the activity of illegal students' circles of Warsaw, which appeared at the end of the Seventies and were oriented at the beginning on the diccident Committee on Defending the Workers and later on the...
- socialist, candidate of Polish Labour PartyPolish Labour PartyThe Polish Labour Party is a minor left-wing political party in Poland, describing itself as socialist. It was created on 11 November 2001 as the 'Alternative - Labour Party' and acquired its current name in 2004...
and Communist Party of PolandCommunist Party of PolandThe Communist Party of Poland is a historical communist party in Poland. It was a result of the fusion of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania and the Polish Socialist Party-Left in the Communist Workers Party of Poland .-1918-1921:The KPRP was founded on 16 December 1918 as...
.
Results
Voters turnout in the first round was quite low with only 49.6 percent of all eligible voters casting their votes.External links
- Angus Reid Consultants - Election Tracker
- http://www.pbssopot.com.pl/x.php?x=184/Kalkulator-prezydencki.html"Presidential Calculator", RzeczpospolitaRzeczpospolita (newspaper)Rzeczpospolita is a Polish national daily newspaper, with a circulation around of 160,000. Issued every day except Sunday. Rzeczpospolita was printed in broadsheet format, then switched to compact at October 16, 2007...
] - Official results
- Reference files on the Poland's presidential candidates.