Warsaw, 14 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Poland is to let its citizens give their view on whether to keep a fence on its border with Belarus, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak wrote on social media on Monday.

The referendum will take place on October 15, the same date voters go to the polls to elect a new parliament.

Polish voters will be asked if they support "the removal of the barrier on the border between Poland and Belarus," Błaszczak said.

While the fence's construction was criticized by opposition politicians at the time, given the current situation, with Belarus a close ally of Russia, there is no significant opposition to the fence.

Recently, there has been growing concern in Poland about the activities of Russian Wagner mercenaries in Belarus and a growing number of migrants from crisis regions who want to enter the European Union without permission via the neighbouring country.

Last year, Poland secured the land sections of the 418-kilometre-long border with Belarus with a 5.5-metre-high fence.

Despite support for the fence, the opposition sees electoral tactics behind the referendum. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is under pressure because of high inflation, strict abortion laws and various nepotism scandals.

Against this backdrop, party leader Jarosław Kaczyński in June floated the idea of a referendum parallel to the election.

There are already three other issues important to the PiS that will appear on the October ballot: EU asylum policy, whether to raise the retirement age and whether state-owned enterprises should be privatized.

The opposition accuses the PiS of using the referendum to mobilize additional voters for the parliamentary elections with its own agenda.

Photo: Twitter Ministry of Defence, Poland