Senate speaker received referendum reply
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
28.08.2015 14:51
The speaker of the Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz, has stated that he has received a reply to his questions about the 25 October referendum from the Presidential Chancellery.
Bogdan Borusewicz addressed a press conference on Friday. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kamiński
The Speaker of the Senate added, however, that the reply does not dispel his doubts about the referendum questions and the organisation of the vote.
Borusewicz noted at a press briefing on Friday, that in a letter to the Office of the President he asked, among others, to describe the legal and financial consequences of the referendum questions, especially questions concerning the withdrawal of the pension reform, under which the retirement age was increased in Poland to 67 due to demographic reasons.
The 25 October referendum will deal with issues such as the sale of State Forests, the minimum age of state schooling and lowering the retirement age.
"I applied [for an explanation], because this question is very vague. I received an answer that they cannot answer my question, because the questions are very general, that is a tautology," said Borusewicz.
The Senate Speaker had earlier announced that the Polish Senate will look into the request by Polish President Andrzej Duda to hold a referendum on 25 October, the same day as the general election.
The Polish constitution gives the Senate 14 days to vote on a motion filed by the President regarding such issues as a referendum. The Senate Speaker said that the voting on the referendum will take place on 4 September. (rg/rk)