The fate of the former Polish ruling party represents a microcosm of trends in electoral accountability in Eastern Europe. In the partially competitive elections of 1989 that marked the transition from communism in Poland, the Polish United Workers' Party (PZRP), which had governed the country since 1945, faced competition for only 35% of the seats in the lower house of parliament and all one hundred seats in a newly created senate. The communist leaders were confident that even with the limited competition they would do well in these elections; after all, they held myriad organizational advantages over the opposition.

In fact, the elections proved disastrous for them. They lost every competitive seat and could not even muster a majority for some of the seats reserved to them. Their dismal showing in these elections indicated that their time had come and, after further negotiations, many of their elected deputies defected to the opposition and allowed the leaders of the opposition Solidarity union to take power.

After this crushing defeat, the party transformed itself into a European-style left-of-center party called the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). The party purged the hardliners who had been active in the repression of the 1980s and tried to present itself as a modernizing, democratic party (Grzymala-Busse 2002). When it faced the electorate again in Poland's first truly free elections in 1991, the SLD did somewhat better, winning 12% of the votes in a crowded field and finishing in second place.