Polish opposition holds massive Warsaw rally ahead of a tight election.

“Big change is on the way. Donald Tusk, the head of the PO, addressed the crowds assembled in a prominent Warsaw square, many of whom were carrying Polish and EU flags.

The party has refuted Tusk’s assertion that PiS wants to expel Poland from the EU and has framed the election as crucial for women’s and minority rights.

Since taking office in 2015, the PiS party has run on a platform promising to keep immigrants out of Poland and to retain funding for families and older people.

Hanna Chaciewicz, a 59-year-old dentist from Otwock, a town south of Warsaw, said, “I want to be free, be in the EU, I want to have a say, and I want to have free courts.”

In response to accusations from the West that it has undermined democratic principles, PiS claims that its reforms to the court are intended to make the nation more equitable and free of communist remnants. At the same time, its modifications to the public media purge it of outside influence.

However, Brussels has delayed billions of euros in EU COVID recovery money due to the Polish court reforms, so it has not yet been able to access them.

“Everyone is making investments in the battle against the climate disaster and jobs. Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and a prominent PO member, said to the crowd at the event, “And we have been refused this money because someone has determined to undermine democracy in Poland.