1987 Polish political and economic reforms referendum

Politics of Poland


Government Constitution of Poland Law Human rights
Legislature Parliament of Poland Current Parliament Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia (PL2050) Deputy Marshals Senate Marshal Małgorzata Maria Kidawa- Błońska (PO) Deputy Marshals
Executive President of Poland Andrzej Duda (I) Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk (PO) Cabinet Ministries
Judiciary Supreme Court of Poland First President Małgorzata Manowska Constitutional Tribunal President Julia Przyłębska Supreme Administrative Court State Tribunal
Elections Presidential Parliamentary Local Referendums
Political parties Major parties Law and Justice Civic Platform Other parties
Administrative divisions Voivodeship voivodes marshals Counties (powiat) Communes (gmina) Cities and towns
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Zbigniew Rau Diplomatic missions of / in Poland Ambassadors
Related topics Economy History (political) Armed forces
Poland portal Other countries
v t e

A referendum on political and economic reforms was held in Poland on 29 November 1987.^[1] The government's aim in holding the referendum was to obtain a mandate for difficult economic and political reforms. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime.^[2] Only 44% of Poland's 26 million eligible voters voted yes to the question on economic reform, and 46% voted yes to the second question on "democratisation" in Poland. Even though a majority of the votes cast supported the propositions, according to the rules of the referendum the majority of eligible voters had to vote yes in order for the referendum to pass. The resulting failure of the referendum was unprecedented, as it was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote.^[2]

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/5
Views:
1 197 041
707
58 457
349 216
18 244

Transcription

Questions

Voters were presented with two questions:^[3]

Are you for the support of radical economic reform?
Are you for a deep democratisation of the political life?

The first proposal would allow the government to carry out the "full government program for radical economic recovery," aimed at "improving living conditions," on the understanding that this would require a "difficult" two-to-three-year period of "rapid changes." The second would lead to the introduction a new "Polish model" for "democratising political life, aimed at strengthening self-government, extending the rights of citizens and increasing their participation" in running the country.^[4]

Results

Question I

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	11,601,975	66.04
No	4,866,207	27.70
Blank votes	1,100,781	6.27
Valid votes	17,568,963	99.61
Invalid votes	69,520	0.39
Total votes	17,638,483	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	26,201,169	67.32
Majority required	13,100,585
Source: Central Committee for Referendum

Question II

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	12,127,621	69.03
No	4,317,401	24.57
Blank votes	1,123,941	6.40
Valid votes	17,568,963	99.61
Invalid votes	69,520	0.39
Total votes	17,638,483	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	26,201,169	67.32
Majority required	13,100,585
Source: Central Committee for Referendum

References

^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1491 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
^ ^a ^b Poland Thanks for Asking, but Time, 14 December 1987
^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1498
^ Abraham Brumberg Poland: The New Opposition The New York Review of Books, Volume 35, Number 2, 18 February 1988

v t e Elections and referendums in Poland
Presidential elections	1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Parliamentary elections	1919 1922 1928 1930 1935 1938 1947 1952 1957 1961 1965 1969 1972 1976 1980 1985 1989 1991 1993 1997 2001 2005 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Next
Local elections	1916–17 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1933–34 1936 1938–39 1954 1958 1961 1965 1969 1973 1976 1980 1984 1988 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 <i>2024</i>
European elections	2004 2009 2014 2019 2024
Referendums	1946 1987 1996 1997 2003 2015 2023
See also: Elections in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

v t e History of the Polish People's Republic
1945–48 Early post-war	Recovered Territories Polish population transfers (1944–1946) Expulsion of Germans Operation Vistula Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland Polish Committee of National Liberation Provisional Government of National Unity Trial of the Sixteen Cursed soldiers Augustów roundup 1946 Polish people's referendum 1947 Polish legislative election Small Constitution of 1947 Amnesty of 1947 Battle for trade Three-Year Plan
1948–56 Sovietization under Bierut's rule	Polish United Workers' Party Six-Year Plan Collectivization Socialist realism in Poland Mokotów Prison executions of 1951 1952 Constitution Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia Trial of the Generals PAX Association Poznań protests of 1956 Polish October (1956)
1956–70 Gomułka's autarchic communism	1957 Polish legislative election Millennium of the Polish State Bishops' Letter of Reconciliation 1968 Polish political crisis Kniefall von Warschau Polish protests of 1970
1970–81 Gierek's international opening	1971 Łódź strikes Letter of 59 June 1976 protests Workers' Defence Committee Flying University 1980 Lublin strikes Gdańsk Agreement Jastrzębie-Zdrój strikes Solidarity (Polish trade union) Independent Students' Association Rural Solidarity Bydgoszcz events 1981 warning strike in Poland 1981 Polish hunger demonstrations
1981–89 Jaruzelski's autocratic rule and demise	Martial law in Poland Militsiya hour Military Council of National Salvation Pacification of Wujek 1982 demonstrations Fighting Solidarity Federation of Fighting Youth Orange Alternative 1987 Polish political and economic reforms referendum 1988 Polish strikes Polish Round Table Agreement

This page was last edited on 12 September 2022, at 19:28