On June 4, 1989, partly free elections were held to the lower house of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, and completely free elections to the upper house, the Senate.
A 1989 Polish election poster designed by Tomasz Sarnecki and based on the 1952 American film "High Noon." Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
The Solidarity opposition movement scored a resounding victory, winning all the seats available to it in the Sejm, and all but one seat in the freely contested Senate.
The vote was a milestone that triggered a domino effect across the region, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of decades of division between Western Europe and the communist East.
As Poland marks the anniversary, the main governing party, the liberal-centrist Civic Platform (PO), plans to hold a rally in Warsaw in the late afternoon to mobilize supporters ahead of the upcoming European elections.
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Source: IAR, PAP