Over 48 percent of Poles plan to vote in Oct. 15 referendum

In all, 48.1 percent of those surveyed plan to take part in a national referendum, which is due to be held on the same day as the general election, namely, on October 15, a poll has revealed.

A total of 37.5 percent of the respondents do not want to vote in the referendum, according to the results of a survey carried out by UCE Research for the Onet portal, and published on Monday.

The four-question referendum, approved by the lower house of parliament on Aug. 17, will cover a proposed EU migrant relocation scheme, the sale of state assets, the future of a fence on the Polish-Belarusian border and the retirement age.

At least 50 percent of the eligible voters must take part in a referendum to make it valid.

The opposition has been calling on voters to boycott the referendum.

Asked how they will answer the first referendum question, namely, „Do you support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises?,” 19.8 percent of those polled said „yes” and 64.3 percent said „no.”

Asked whether they are in favour of raising the retirement age which today is 60 for women and 65 for men, 21.9 percent said that they supported such a measure and 67.5 percent did not share this opinion.

Asked whether they support the removal of the barrier on the border between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus, only 13.5 percent said „yes,” and 73 percent said „no.”

Answering the fourth question as to whether they support the acceptance of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa, according to the forced relocation mechanism imposed by the European bureaucracy, 18.6 percent said they supported it and 69.4 percent said they did not.

The poll was carried out on a representative sample of 1,025 adult Poles on Aug. 18. (PAP)

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