News / EU

Poles demonstrate in defense of democracy

Saturday, 12 December 2015 6:02 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 12 December 2015 7:07 PM ]

People hold Polish national flags and European flags during an anti-government demonstration in central Warsaw on December 12, 2015. (AFP)

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in the Polish capital, Warsaw, and other cities in defense of democracy and in protest against the policies of the new government.

The protest was organized by the Committee for the Defense of Democracy on Saturday.

Demonstrators argue that President Andrzej Duda has been acting against the constitution by appointing new judges to the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, the top law arbiter which has sole authority to declare laws unconstitutional.

About 50,000 people, some from other cities, attended the demonstration. They chanted "Duda must go" on their way to the Polish Presidential Palace in downtown Warsaw. "We will defend the constitution!" was also shouted by the protesters.

Duda took office in May and he is affiliated to the Law and Justice party that gained the majority in parliamentary elections of October.

The conservative Law and Justice party had promised to tackle corruption throughout its campaign running to the October elections.

At present, the Law and Justice party has more than half of the 460-seat lower house of parliament, allowing the party to govern the country without the need for a coalition partner.

With both the country’s executive and legislative bodies now in the hands of the Law and Justice party, the Constitutional Tribunal remains the last obstacle on the path of the right-wing party to take full control of all three governmental bodies.

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