2023-08-15 10:50 update: 2023-08-16, 14:51
Photo PAP/Tomasz Gzell
The Polish government has submitted a motion to the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, to hold a nationwide referendum on matters of particular importance to the state, to be held alongside the October 15 general election.
The motion, submitted to the Sejm Speaker on Monday night by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, proposes four questions previously announced by top politicians of the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS).
In the motion, Morawiecki requested that the referendum be set for October 15, 2023, the date of elections to the Sejm and the Senate.
Planned originally as a national referendum on the European Union's proposed new migration policy, the plebiscite will also cover other topics.
The first question in the planned referendum, as approved by the cabinet, will read: "Do you support the sell-off of state assets to foreign entities, leading to the loss of control by Polish women and men over strategic sectors of the economy?"
In the second question, Poles will be asked: "Do you support raising the retirement age, including restoring the increased retirement age to 67 for men and women?"
The third question will ask: "Do you support the removal of the barrier on the border between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus?"
The fourth question is: "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?"
Commenting on the referendum questions, Morawiecki said in a live broadcast on Facebook on Monday night that "All these questions are crucial... because that is what democracy is all about."
A regulation on the referendum is scheduled to be discussed by the Sejm at its August 16-17 sitting. (PAP)
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