Background
Following the September 1997 parliamentary elections,
the right-of-center Solidarity Election
Action coalition and the centrist Freedom
Union formed a governing coalition, deposing
the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance
and Polish Peasant's League. While in many
areas ideological differences persist between
left and right-wing political groups over
Poland's political past and current transition,a
consensus exists among parties and within
the electorate on the fundamentals of Poland's
democratic political system, market economy,
and integration into European and Atlantic
structures.
In July, the Solidarity-led government passed
a much- anticipated administrative reform
package, reducing the country's provinces
from 49 to 16. The government also introduced
a new layer of government, between provincial
and municipal governments.
More than 45 percent of Poland's citizenry
participated in local elections on October
11 (up from 34 percent in 1994). The Solidarity
Election Action (AWS) and the Democratic
Left Alliance (SLD) won clear victories
while the Social Alliance (PS) - a new coalition
of the Polish Peasant Party, the Union of
Labor and the National Pensioners' Party
- emerged as the third strongest political
power. The Freedom Union (UW) placed
fourth, losing a significant percentage
of its electorate from the last local elections.
Local Election Results
Regional
Councils
63,765
seats
AWS
10,613
seats
(16.6%)
SLD
8,840
seats
(13.9%)
PS
4,583
seats
(7.2%)
UW
1,146
seats
(1.8%)
* 38,156 seats (more than half of the available
positions) were won by electoral committees
with no party affiliation.
16
Provincial Councils
SLD will govern 9 councils
AWS will govern 6 councils
The AWS-UW coalition will govern in the
Silesian province.
NDI's Programs in Poland
In January 1996, with funding from the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID),
NDI began a program to assist political
parties in organizational development and
public outreach at the local level. From
its Warsaw office, NDI's resident representative
and three Polish staff, along with experts
from North America and Western Europe, have
worked with more than 2,500 political party
leaders, candidates and activists from eight
political parties and the Solidarity trade
union in more than 25 cities. Throughout
Poland, hundreds of additional activists
have benefited from NDI training materials.
NDI's training centered on long-term party development
(branch organization, membership and volunteer
recruitment, headquarter-branch relations,
fundraising), as well as on election-related
themes including election plans, organization,
voter contact, and message development and
delivery.
In preparation for the October local elections,
NDI provided training for party branches
and candidates, as well as summer training
camps for young activists from the Solidarity
Election Action, Democratic Left Alliance,
Freedom Union, the Movement for the
Reconstruction of Poland and the Social
Democracy of the Republic of Poland. Training
programs centered around membership recruitment,
fund raising and door-to-door solicitation.
Women and Youth Programs
An integral component of NDI's program is to
augment the political participation of women
and youth by improving their political skills
and strengthening their presence in party
ranks.
As a result of NDI's multipartisan training
components and conferences, women and youth
from opposing parties fostered friendships,
thereby helping to reduce longstanding political
animosities between the Solidarity and post-communist
blocs which have recently impeded the political
transition process.
Study Missions
Major highlights of NDI's program have been work/study
missions to the United Kingdom in which
Polish activists have worked side by side
with their British counterparts in the Tory
and Labour parties in preparation for parliamentary
and local elections. Participants have participated
in a broad scope of intensive grassroots
activity and have applied such skills in
their own election activities as candidates,
election managers and volunteers.
"Many AWS activists who were trained by
NDI succeeded in the election as
well as brought a lot of new ways
of running election campaigns into
the Polish perspective...In my opinion
the trips to Great Britain are very
valuable for political party activists
who can later use their British
experience during the Polish elections."
- Ryszard Czarnecki, Former Chair of the European Integration Committee
In September 1998, NDI hosted 11 Serbian political
activists to take part in the Polish election
campaign. Serbian activists campaigned with
local candidates, met with national campaign
managers, and conferred with local and national
journalists to consider media coverage of
the campaign. Unlike a study mission
to a western-style democratic country such
as the United Kingdom, this program represented
the first "East-East" political party exchange
for NDI.
Training of Trainers
NDI's "train the trainer's" program, which commenced
in January 1998, trained a multipartisan
group of 16 individuals from the Solidarity
Election Action, Democratic Left Alliance
and Freedom Union to serve as internal party
trainers. NDI provided specialized
training to these activists so that they
could assist in political party work.
More important,NDI's training provided long-term
skills with which they could continue training
after NDI's departure from Poland.
European Institute for Democracy
NDI also assisted with the creation of a Polish
non-governmental organization in Warsaw,
the European Institute for Democracy (EID).
The mandate of this organization was to
support democratic transitions in Poland
and in the surrounding former Soviet bloc
countries. EID, headed by two former
NDI staff and a number of trainers, will
educate political parties on general development
in addition to working intensively with
women and youth activists using principles
developed through similar work generated
by NDI's programs.
NDI completed its two-and-a-half year political
party building program in Poland in November
1998.
Contact Information
For more information on NDI's programs in Poland,
please contact:
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