October 19, 2007
Will Poland's SMS And The Internet Determine The New Polish Government
There is a sudden wave of activity in Poland that is targeting the young Polish voters and urging them to vote in the Polish elections that will be held on Sunday. Being generally internet and SMS based, it is unprecedented and may have a major effect on the election results. The Eastern European Review reports.
"It started quietly and took many by surprise. The general public did not have much information about what was happening until the Law And Justice Party (PIS) publicly accused the Civic Platform (PO) of being behind a widely broadcast SMS message that advised voters to "hide Granny's ID".
With PIS targeting the older vote and the requirement for presenting one's ID at the voting station, PIS was very concerned about what might happen if young people starting hiding IDs so the older people can't vote.
PO denied being behind the message.
The publicity itself may have helped popularized the use of SMS messages to sway the vote. Since the PIS complaint, there has been a growing wave of other SMS messages advising people to vote."
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