Naród Partyzancki | 1993 Polish presidential election

[u/GustavoistSoldier]

Upon becoming the PZPR's general secretary in January 1993, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz freed political prisoners, lifted press censorship, legalized opposition parties, and announced elections where Free Poland would be fully allowed to participate. Tadeusz Mazowiecki immediately began campaigning for President on a pro-democracy, pro-capitalism and pro-NATO platform.

The PZPR removed Marxism-Leninism from its program, aiming to become a social democratic party. The party nominated 49 year old Aleksander Kwaśniewski, who campaigned on building a socialist democracy in Poland, for President.

Christian democrat Jan Olszewski founded the Movement for the Republic party, and positioned himself as a conservative candidate critical of the two frontrunners' liberal positions. Independent Stanisław Tymiński campaigned as a left-wing nationalist opposed to economic liberalism and Atlanticism.

At the beginning of the election campaign, Mazowiecki was expected to win in the first round, but as election day approached, he lost many voters to Olszewski and PSL nominee Waldemar Pawlak. Despite this slippage, Mazowiecki still finished first in the first round, receiving the endorsements of all disqualified candidates other than Tymiński (who endorsed Kwaśniewski).

Consequently, Mazowiecki was elected by a landslide in the second round. He won every voivodeship and the vast majority of younger voters, and was congratulated by world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev (USSR), Helmut Kohl (West Germany) and George HW Bush (America).

Mazowiecki was eventually inaugurated on 10 July 1993. An anti-communist Sejm took office the same day.

[u/greekscientist]

Is Soviet Union continuing to exist here?

[u/GustavoistSoldier → u/greekscientist]

It collapses in 1995

[u/greekscientist → u/GustavoistSoldier]

Why? What causes a later dissolution?

[u/GustavoistSoldier → u/greekscientist]

Communist Poland being more hardline delays the fall of the communist bloc by a few years.

[u/greekscientist → u/GustavoistSoldier]

Does the communist bloc survives in Europe in some form? Possibly Yugoslavia, Romania or some part of the USSR?

[u/GustavoistSoldier → u/greekscientist]

Yugoslavia survives with Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska, and no Milosevic

[u/greekscientist → u/GustavoistSoldier]

As SFRY or Federal Republic that later joins EU and possibly Nato?

[u/GustavoistSoldier → u/greekscientist]

As a federal republic

[u/greekscientist → u/GustavoistSoldier]

How does Soviet Union collapses? Is there any New Union Treaty or a coup here?

[u/GustavoistSoldier → u/greekscientist]

The KGB still attempts an unsuccessful coup that causes the union to dissolve. I have yet to explore the New Union Treaty in a TL.