WARSAW: Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk said “hundreds of thousands” of protesters had gathered in central Warsaw on Sunday to oppose the conservative government ahead of general elections in Poland on 15 October.
Called by Tusk, the former prime minister and head of the centrist Civic Coalition bloc, the rally tried to mobilize the electorate for the crunch election. Tusk said that when he sees these hundreds of thousands of smiling faces, he has a good feeling that the breakthrough moment in the history of the homeland is coming, AFP reported.
“A great change is taking place — this is a mark of the great Polish revival,” Tusk told workers who flooded the center of the capital city, many holding Polish and European Union (EU) flags.
Participants started gathering in Warsaw in the early hours, with people travelling from across the country to rally against the government. Kazimierz Figzal said it took him 7 hours to get to Warsaw from southwest Poland.
the 65-year-old said that they have had enough of what they witness now – their freedom is being curbed. They want democracy, for their children and grandchildren. Lech Walesa, ex-president of Poland, Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the struggle against communism, said earlier he planned to march, along with the leaders of some other opposition parties.
A co-leader of the New Left party Wlodzimierz Czarzasty said that they know what (the incumbent party) fears the most — the cooperation within the opposition.
Election Expectations in Poland
The ruling party, which frequently clashes with the European Union and faces allegations of undermining the rule of law, holds a comfortable lead in polls, with around 35% of voting intention according to IBRiS polling.
The Civic Coalition opposition alliance has long trailed in second place, with 27% of voting intention in the IBRiS poll. But according to Tusk, internal polls carried by his own party show that the Law and Justice party’s lead has narrowed to just 2% points.
