A referendum on political and economic reforms was held in Poland on 29 November 1987.
[1] The government's aim in holding the referendum was to obtain a mandate for difficult economic and political reforms.
The resulting failure of the referendum was unprecedented, as it was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote.
[2] Voters were presented with two questions:[3] The first proposal would allow the government to carry out the "full government program for radical economic recovery," aimed at "improving living conditions," on the understanding that this would require a "difficult" two-to-three-year period of "rapid changes."
The second would lead to the introduction a new "Polish model" for "democratising political life, aimed at strengthening self-government, extending the rights of citizens and increasing their participation" in running the country.