Mass protests extended to an eighth consecutive night across Poland after the parliament, defying allies including the U.S. and the European Union, passed legislation giving the nation's ruling party more control over the judiciary.
Tens of thousands of opposition-backed protesters in dozens of cities marched peacefully on Sunday, holding flags and constitution booklets in their hands. They urged President Andrzej Duda to veto the legislation, which they've said is a threat to Poland's democracy. The 100-seat upper chamber followed the lower house and passed the bill early Saturday with 55 votes.
"Protests take place in many cities. It shows that the issue is key," Grzegorz Schetyna, head of Civic Platform, Poland's largest opposition party, said at a rally in Legnica in western Poland. "Poles are protesting day after day. This should give Duda something to think about."
The zloty weakened 1.5 percent last week amid mounting political risks, including the threat of EU sanctions over Duda's legislation. The battle over changes to the courts is becoming the biggest political standoff in Poland since communism fell in 1989, turning the government against its partners in western Europe and the U.S.
The court revamp is "one step back for democracy," U.S. Senator John McCain tweeted on Saturday.
Shut out of the legislative process, the opposition has been mobilizing supporters on the streets, but Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the ruling Law & Justice party, said he won't back down. His party controls parliament and backed Duda for president.
