A double referendum was held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on 18 February 1996.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 One concerned enfranchisement, whilst the others concerned state property. The first was ordered by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, whilst the others were created on the basis of resolution made by

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

. All except one were approved by over 90% of voters. However, voter turnout was just 32%, well below the 50% threshold required to make the referendums valid.Polish Referendum: Mixed Results Stall Privatization
Chicago Tribune, 21 February 1996

Act about the referendums

The act about the referendums was passed on June 25, 1995 ( Dz.U. 99, position 487 from 25.08.1995)

Subject of the referendums

Enfranchisement referendum

On 29 November 1995, President of Poland

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

, after getting permission from Senate, mandated the referendum with the question: *Do you approve the enfranchisement of citizens?

Privatisation referendum

On 21 December 1995 the Sejm passed a referendums act, in which four question were to be placed on the ballot: #Are you for or against – obligations towards pensioners, annuitants and retirees in the Civil Service will be fulfilled with the privatised state-owned assets?Nohlen & Stöver, p1499 #Are you for or against – a part of the privatised state-owned assets will be assigned to public pension funds? #Are you for or against – the value of joint stock certificates in National Investment Fund will be increased? #Are you for the use of privatisation bonds in the universal property restitution program?

Results

Enfranchisement referendum

Privatisation referendum

Question I

Question II

Question III

Question IV

References

{{Polish elections

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1996 referendums 1996 in Poland Pension referendums Privatisation referendums Privatization in Poland February 1996 events in Europe