A referendum was held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 15 October 2023, taking place alongside the nationwide elections to the Senate and Sejm. Four questions had been announced by members of the government from 11 to 14 August. Voters were asked whether they approve of the

privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of state-owned enterprises, an increase in the retirement age, the admission of immigrants under the EU relocation mechanism, and the removal of the barrier on Poland's border with Belarus. The referendum was boycotted by the main opposition parties resulting in a turnout of only 40% (compared to more than 70% for the election). As a result of not exceeding the minimum validity threshold of 50% turnout, the results were not legally binding, making the referendum an example of a successful no-show strategy.

Questions

The referendum asked four questions: #"Do you support the selling off of state assets to foreign entities, leading to the loss of Poles' control over strategic sectors of the economy?" #"Do you support an increase in the retirement age, including the restoration of the increased retirement age to 67 for men and women?" #"Do you support the removal of the barrier on the border between the Republic of

and Republic of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

?" #"Do you support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa, in accordance with the forced relocation mechanism imposed by the European bureaucracy?" The questions were criticised by opposition parties and commentators as purportedly aimed at the opposition leader and former Prime Minister

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...

. The ruling

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

party was accused of inciting anti-immigrant sentiment to boost turnout among its voters on election day. The law had been changed shortly before the announcement of the referendum to allow it to be held on the same day as the parliamentary election, which was referred to as a way to skirt past electoral campaign budget limits by the incumbent Law and Justice party under the false pretense of referendum funding. The referendum questions were also phrased as

leading In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...

or loaded questions.

Exit poll

In the

IPSOS Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working fo ...

, it was reported that the voter turnout in the referendum was around 40%, which falls below the minimum validity threshold of 50%, indicating that the referendum is non-binding.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish referendum, 2023 2023 referendums 2023 elections in Europe

Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Privatisation referendums Immigration referendums Immigration to Poland Refugees in Poland Referendums related to the European Union

Questions

Exit poll

See also

Notes

References