Autor: FWG
Don’t get caught up in the political game of the referendum organized by the Law and Justice. It is parliamentary elections that will decide Poland’s future, not a referendum – the Economic Freedom Foundation’s referendum campaign is underway.
Nearly 70% of Poles believe that state-owned companies should not get involved in the referendum campaign, according to a survey conducted by Opinia24 for the Economic Freedom Foundation. At the same time, more than half of voters believe that elections are more important than referendum for Poland’s socio-economic future . The Economic Freedom Foundation encourages people to go to the elections on October 15, but not to get caught up in the political game that is the referendum – and therefore not to pick up a referendum card from the commission.
“We live in a free country. We have the right to decide what is important to us and whether we will get caught up in the political game. To make a real difference, cast an important vote in the elections – and don’t take your referendum card from the commission,” we can hear in the anti-referendum video prepared by the Economic Freedom Foundation. In parallel with the campaign in the media, the website oreferendum.pl has been launched, where we provide information on why not to participate in the referendum and how to do so effectively.
The best way to ensure that our vote does not increase the turnout in the referendum is to refuse to take the referendum card from the commission. It is the responsibility of the election commission to ensure that the referendum card you do not take is not used. The commission should note in the register that you did not take the card – make sure it does so.
“The referendum has been organized by one political party, the questions are biased, and the referendum campaign is designed to serve Law and Justice (PiS) to conduct an additional propaganda campaign, beyond the financial limits of the election law. Besides, as research conducted by the Economic Freedom Foundation shows, the questions asked by the ruling majority in the referendum do not address the most important issues that affect Poles on a daily basis,” points out Marek Tatala, CEO of EFF.
“The majority of voters do not want to get caught up in the political game already. 53% of Polish women and men believe that holding the referendum on election day will affect the election’s outcome. Nearly 60% of voters agree that the answers to the referendum questions are obvious and there is no point in asking about the issues they raise in a referendum. As part of our campaign, we encourage people to take part in the elections to the Sejm and Senate, because they will decide the future of our economy, health care, education, the rule of law and future of Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan – but not this pseudo-referendum of one political party,” Tatala adds.
According to the decision of the National Electoral Commission, the Economic Freedom Foundation is an entity authorized to conduct a free campaign in the public media. The foundation’s video has been broadcasted on all national and regional public television channels and all Polish Radio stations since September 29. Referendum materials will also be promoted in private media and on the Internet.
According to the law, public broadcasters could not prohibit the broadcast of the eligible entity’s advertisement, which provides an opportunity to reach these stations’ viewers with facts and messages that they are unable to see and hear on a daily basis.
As part of the referendum campaign, the Economic Freedom Foundation commissioned an opinion poll conducted by Opinia24. The main conclusions of the survey are:
We also asked voters to choose from one to four of the most important issues on the list of socio-economic problems. It turns out that, according to respondents, there are many topics more important than those asked by those in power in the referendum.
The responders indicated that the most important topics are:
54.2% – better health care
39.1% – better education
37.5% – fight against inflation
29.8% – rule of law
27.4% – European funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan
26.5% – depoliticization of state-owned companies
25.5% – retirement age
24.1% – barrier on the border with Belarus
17.3% – selling off state assets
16.6% – the EU refugee relocation mechanism
“The referendum organized by Law and Justice party is a distraction and a tool for additional promotion of the ruling party beyond the limits of the electoral law. We encourage you not to get caught up in the political game and not to pick up the referendum card from your commission,” concludes Marek Tatala of the Economic Freedom Foundation.
Data source: CATI survey of a representative sample of 1,000 Poles aged 18 and over, conducted on September 16-17, 2023 by Opinia24 for the Economic Freedom Foundation.
EFF’s successful campaign against the populist referendum