Elections for New Parliament Stalled in Poland
The Solidarity trade union’s hopes of steering Poland to full democracy by next spring have suffered a major setback with Parliament’s refusal to set a date for its own dissolution.
The lower house, or Sejm, packed with former Communists and their allies, voted late Friday for a presidential election by the end of the year to replace Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski.
But after a stormy two-day debate, it refused to complete the timetable for Poland’s transition to full democracy by scheduling early parliamentary elections.
Polish communism collapsed last year in the first of the democratic revolutions that swept Eastern Europe.
But former Communists and their allies still hold the presidency and 65% of the Sejm seats under a deal to ensure a trouble-free handing over of the government.
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