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Poland to vote on dismantling border wall with Belarus in October 15 referendum

Polish government representatives have been publishing questions since Friday that they plan to include in the referendum

Metal wall on the border between Poland and Belarus AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk

Metal wall on the border between Poland and Belarus

© AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk

TASS, August 14. The Polish government has published the latest question to be put to a nationwide referendum vote, which is planned to be held concurrently with the October 15 parliamentary elections.

Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the fourth referendum question will concern the wall on Poland’s border with Belarus.

"Do you support the elimination of the barrier on the Polish border with Belarus?" reads the question, as published by the defense chief. "You will decide whether our border will continue to be defended and safe," he said in a short video message.

Polish government representatives have been publishing questions since Friday that they plan to include in the referendum. The first question concerns the sale of state-owned enterprises, the second is on raising the retirement age, and the third pertains to accepting illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa and their forced resettlement in European countries.

Poland constructed a barrier wall, 5.5 meters high and 186 kilometers long and equipped with remote control facilities, in January-June 2022 to prevent the infiltration from Belarus of illegal migrants originating in Africa and the Middle East. Minsk has repeatedly stated that the wall poses a serious threat to the unique Belovezhskaya Pushcha nature preserve, the last surviving stretch of primeval forest in Europe, through which a section of the border between the two countries passes.

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