In a recent statement, Marek Ast, an MP from Poland’s ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), revealed that a referendum on the mandatory admissions of Middle-Eastern and African migrants to Poland could potentially coincide with the upcoming parliamentary elections this autumn. The referendum idea was put forward by PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski in response to the European Commission’s proposal of mandatory migrant relocation quotas for EU member states, a proposition that Poland vehemently opposes.
As the head of the justice committee in Poland’s Sejm, the lower house of parliament, Marek Ast expressed that combining the referendum with the forthcoming Sejm elections could be a viable option. The topic of Middle Eastern and African migrants has resurfaced in Poland’s ongoing election campaign, having been a prominent issue during PiS’s electoral triumph in 2015, which propelled the party into power. While PiS generally maintains a positive stance towards migrants and refugees from Ukraine, the party cautions that migrants from other regions of the world could potentially destabilize Polish society and contribute to an increase in crime rates.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reiterated these concerns during a session in the Sejm on Thursday, just before the passage of a resolution denouncing the EU’s quota plans. It remains to be seen whether the proposed referendum will indeed take place alongside the parliamentary elections this autumn, but the potential implications for Poland’s stance on migrant admissions and the wider political landscape are significant.