Speaking in the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, Morawiecki was responding to criticism of the referendum by Donald Tusk, the leader of the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO).
Piotr Nowak/PAP

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has said that the opposition politicians that oppose his government’s plan to hold a four-question referendum should be considered “’anti-democratic”.

Speaking in the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, Morawiecki was responding to criticism of the referendum by Donald Tusk, the leader of the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO).

Tusk had earlier on Wednesday said that he considers the referendum, which the government wants to hold on the day of the general election, as “invalid.”

The four questions cover the subjects of a proposed EU migrant relocation plan, the retirement age, the sale of state assets and the future of the fence on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Addressing parliament, Morawiecki said that “an opposition that does not want to hold a referendum should be called an anti-democratic opposition,” adding that “an anti-democratic opposition does not recognise the legally elected authorities.”

The referendum is due to be held on October 15, the same day as the general election, and has sparked debate in Poland.

Critics of it claims the questions are designed to be populist touchstones for certain government policies, while the government argues that through the referendum it is giving the Polish people a direct say on issues it considers vital.

Morawiecki also said that he had not seen any Civic Coalition representatives during Tuesday’s military parade in Warsaw to mark Armed Forces Day.

“All this, when I put it all together, leads me to one conclusion: this is not a Civic Platform, this is not a democratic opposition, this is an anti-democratic opposition,” he said.