What will Poland be like – that depends on you!
The Sejm and the Senate exercise legislative power in the Republic of Poland.
They make decisions that are important for the whole Polish society.
You will find out about the voter turnout for different types of elections in Poland.
You will know what kind of decisions are made by the parliament.
You will understand the reasons why voting and choosing the right representatives is so important.
Voter turnout is very low in Poland. In the parliamentary elections of 2015 it was 50,92%, and a year earlier in the elections to the European Parliament – as little as 24%. And yet when choosing our representatives to the legislative powers, we have real influenceinfluence over the issues concerningconcerning state policy. It’s the deputies who decide how the public money are being spent, how high the taxes should be, how the healthcare systemhealthcare system should be organised or about the school system reforms. It is very vital for any social group to be politically represented in the Sejm. The needs of people of different backgrounds (age, job, education) are different, and the deputies should mirrormirror that varietyvariety. Go vote! And if you were a deputy – what decisions would you make?
Take a look at a diagram showing voter turnout in different elections and referendums for the years 1989–2002. Then answer the question in the exercise.
In which elections Polish citizens organized themselves the most and the turnout each time exceeded 60%? What do you think was the reason?
- presidential elections
- local elections
- referendums
- parliamentary elections
Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Match the pairs: English and Polish words.
wpływ, system opieki zdrowotnej, odzwierciedlać, różnorodność, dotyczyć, sprawa
| influence | |
| issue | |
| to concern | |
| healthcare system | |
| to mirror | |
| variety |
Keywords
voter turnout, parliamentary elections, representatives, public money, taxes
Glossary
wpływ
sprawa
dotyczyć
system opieki zdrowotnej
odzwierciedlać
różnorodność