At Stake in this Election: 

On 15 October 2023, Polish voters will vote on 4 referendum questions concerning privatization, the retirement age, border barriers, and EU migration quotas. Senate and Sejm elections will occur concurrently. 

The referendum questions are as follows:  

“Question 1: Do you support the sale of state assets to foreign entities, leading to the loss of control by Polish women and men over strategic sectors of the economy? 

Question 2: Do you support raising the retirement age, including restoring the retirement age increased to 67 for women and men? 

Question 3: Do you support the elimination of the barrier on the border between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Belarus? 

Question 4: Do you support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa under the forced relocation mechanism imposed by the European bureaucracy?” 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Adrzej DUDA (since 6 August 2015) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mateusz MORAWIECKI (since 11 December 2017) 

• Assembly: bicameral Parliament (Parlament) including a 100-seat Senate (Senat) and a 460-seat Sejm 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve up to two 5-year terms. 

• The Prime Minister is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Sejm. 

• In the Senate, all 100 members are directly elected by plurality vote within single-seat constituencies. Members serve 4-year terms. 

• In the Sejm, all 460 members are elected by party-list proportional representation vote and serve 4-year terms. Parties must win at least 5% of the national vote to earn a seat, and coalitions must win at least 8%. 

Last Referendum: 

In 2015, a 3-question referendum was held, asking voters about switching to single-seat constituencies for Sejm elections, maintaining state financing of political parties, and resolving tax law interpretation issues. Voter turnout was 7.8%, below the 50% validity threshold, so the referendum results were ruled invalid. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

In March 2023, Parliament passed a series of amendments to the Election Code, including: changes to the system of voter registration, with the introduction of a Central Register of Voters and new rules for creating voter lists; reducing the time for Supreme Court decisions on electoral appeal; reducing the minimum number of voters per polling station from 500 to 200; changes to membership qualifications and appointment process for constituency and district election commissions; providing free transport to polling stations people over 60 or with disabilities if no regular transport is available; providing for an allowance for contestants' observers; and allowing observers to make recordings of the voting process and obliging them to transmit their recordings to the government minister responsible for digitalization. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A 

• Voters can register to vote by mail (if eligible) until 2 October and change their registered polling place until 12 October. 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 37,991,766 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 30,253,556 (2019) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 19,583,385 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 29 May 1980, Ratified 30 July 1980 

• Gender Quota:  Women and men must make up at least 35% of a given party list, respectively. 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 24 out of 100 (24%) in the Senate and 130 out of 460 (28.3%) in the Sejm  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.876, Very High, Rank 34 (2021)  

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 18.5 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 20 March 2007, Ratified 25 September 2012 

• Projected population with a disability: 5,698,765 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Poland: No  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 2 judgments and 24 resources  

Referendum Questions in Polish: 

“Pytanie 1: Czy popierasz wyprzedaż majątku państwowego podmiotom zagranicznym, prowadzącą do utraty kontroli Polek i Polaków nad strategicznymi sektorami gospodarki? 

Pytanie 2: Czy popierasz podniesienie wieku emerytalnego, w tym przywrócenie podwyższonego do 67 lat wieku emerytalnego dla kobiet i mężczyzn? 

Pytanie 3: Czy popierasz likwidację bariery na granicy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z Republiką Białorusi? 

Pytanie 4: Czy popierasz przyjęcie tysięcy nielegalnych imigrantów z Bliskiego Wschodu i Afryki, zgodnie z przymusowym mechanizmem relokacji narzucanym przez biurokrację europejską?”