Editing Polish People's Party (section)

===Under the communist regime===
[[File:PSL w Powiatach Barry Kent.png|right|thumb|250px|Support for the PSL by region in [[2007 Polish parliamentary election]]]]
In June 1945 after the war [[Stanisław Mikołajczyk]], a PSL leader who had been Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, returned to communist-dominated Poland, where he joined the [[Provisional Government of National Unity|provisional government]] and [[Polish People's Party (1945–1949)|rebuilt PSL]]. The party hoped to win the [[Yalta Conference]]-mandated elections and help establish a [[parliamentary system]] in Poland. However, the party soon found itself targeted with intimidation, arrests and violence by the communist secret police.<ref>{{cite book|title=Iron Curtain: The crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956|last=Applebaum|first=Anne|year = 2012|pages=212–213}}</ref>

The communists also formed a rival ersatz 'Peasants' party' controlled by them, in order to confuse voters. The [[1947 Polish legislative election|January 1947 parliamentary election]] was heavily rigged, with the communist-controlled bloc claiming to have won 80% of the vote. The PSL were said to have won just 10% of the vote, but many neutral observers believe the PSL would have won the election had it been conducted fairly.<ref name="history" />

Mikołajczyk was soon compelled to flee Poland for his life in October 1947. The communists then forced the remains of Mikołajczyk's PSL to unite with the pro-communist People's Party to form the [[United People's Party (Poland)|United People's Party]]. The ZSL was a governing partner in the [[Front of National Unity|ruling coalition]].<ref name="Ost Solidarity 34-36">[[David Ost]], ''Solidarity and the Politics of Anti-Politics'', pp. 34-36, 1990 Philadelphia, [[Temple University Press]], {{ISBN|0-87722-655-5}}</ref>