There have been several

referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

in the history of

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 ...

1920 and 1921

There were no country-wide referendums in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, but there were two local referendums on border issues between Poland and Germany: * 11 July 1920 –

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 ...

on Warmia, Mazury and Powiśle * 20 March 1921 –

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

1946 and 1987

There were two referendums in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

: * 30 June 1946 – People's referendum (also known as the ''3xTAK'', ''3 times YES'' referendum) * 29 November 1987 – Referendum on political and economic reforms

Since 1989

There have been four referendums in post-Communist Poland: * 18 February 1996: two referendums: ** Referendum on enfranchisement of citizens (''Referendum w sprawie powszechnego uwłaszczenia obywateli'') ** Referendum with four questions on privatised assets (''Referendum o niektórych kierunkach wykorzystania majątku państwowego'') * 25 May 1997 – Referendum on the Constitution (''Referendum konstytucyjne'') * 7–8 June 2003 – Referendum on joining the EU (''Referendum akcesyjne'' or ''Referendum europejskie'') * 6 September 2015 – Referendum with three questions on Sejm representation, political party funding, and tax law dispute resolution: ** Introducing

single-member constituencies A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as ...

for

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

elections, on maintaining state financing of political parties and introducing a presumption in favour of the taxpayer in disputes over the tax law. A referendum on the proposed EU Constitution was planned in 2005, but was abandoned after the rejection of the Constitution by French voters. 2023 Polish referendum happened in

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

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, increase in the retirement age, admission of immigrants under the EU relocation mechanism and removal of the barrier on Poland’s border with Belarus. The referendum was answered by around 40% of eligible Polish voters, making it not binding.

References

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