The PP demands new elections in a mass protest in Madrid

Euronews

09-06-2025

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had reached the western edge of the Donetsk region, one of the four provinces Russia illegally annexed in 2022, and that troops were 'developing the offensive' in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.
This would be the first time Russian troops had pushed into the region in the more than three-year-old war. Ukraine has denied the claim.
Russia's advance would mark a significant setback for Ukraine's already stretched forces as peace talks remain stalled and Russian troops have made incremental gains elsewhere.
Putin's forces also appear to be within a few kilometres of the city of Sumy, three years after Ukraine forced them out of the northern region.
One person was killed and another seriously wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region. These strikes came after Russian attacks targeted the regional capital on Saturday. Regional police in Kharkiv said on Sunday that the death toll from Saturday's attacks had increased to six people. More than two dozen others were wounded.
Russia fired a total of 49 exploding drones and decoys and three missiles overnight, Ukraine's air force said Sunday. Forty drones were shot down or electronically jammed.
Russia's defence ministry said that its forces shot down 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including near the capital.
Five people were wounded Sunday in a Ukrainian drone attack on a parking lot in Russia's Belgorod region, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a chemical plant in the Tula region, local authorities said.
Russian authorities said early Sunday that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, two international airports serving Moscow, temporarily suspended flights because of a Ukrainian drone attack. Later in the day, Domodedovo halted flights temporarily for a second time, along with Zhukovsky airport.
Thousands of people gathered on Sunday in Madrid's central Plaza de España to protest against the government in a demonstration organised by the Popular Party (PP). Under the slogan 'Mafia or democracy', the PP called on citizens to 'mobilise' against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez following the scandal surrounding the WhatsApp messages of socialist activist Leire Díez and the alleged cases of corruption plaguing his term in office.
"We are here to defend our country and democratic dignity", opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said in his speech. "Spain is tired, but it has not given up. Today we are here (...) so that you can speak loud and clear to the president who is hiding; here is a country that is not doing so (...) we are not going to remain silent", he added.
In conclusion, he called on Sánchez to clear the way for fresh elections to be held.
The rally, which began at 11:00 local time, also featured speeches by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and was attended by former presidents José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy.
According to the Popular Party, some 100,000 people took part in Sunday's protest, although the Government Delegation in Madrid put the number of attendees at around 50,000.
On Monday at 17:00, the National Electoral Commission (PKW) will consider erroneously completed protocols in some constituencies at a meeting, PKW member Ryszard Kalisz announced in a post on X. He was referring to the second round of the presidential election.
According to the official results of the PKW, the election was won by Karol Nawrocki. The candidate supported by Law and Justice (PiS) won 10,606,877 votes, or 50.89%. He defeated Civic Coalition (KO) candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, who got the vote from 10,237,286 people in the second round, or 49.11%.
Ultimately, the validity of the presidential election is decided by the Supreme Court on the basis of the report presented by the PKW and after considering protests.
Certain entities, including voters, can submit written protests until 16 June. The Supreme Court has received 21 election protests, Monika Drwal of the Supreme Court press team reported on Friday.
A petition for a recount of the votes is being collected online. To date, the petition has collected more than 160,000 signatures.
"Given the extremely small difference of 369,591 votes between the candidates in the last presidential election, the very high number of 189,000 invalid votes, as well as the numerous reports of irregularities in the work of the electoral commissions, we feel obliged to call for a recount of all votes cast," wrote the authors of the petition. - wrote the authors of the petition.
Signals of irregularities appeared, among others, in Minsk Mazowiecki. The authorities there reported that the results of two candidates had been swapped in one of the commissions. The chairman of the commission admitted that he had made a mistake in the minutes.
A similar incident occurred in Krakow, specifically at PEC number 95 on Stawowa Street. The District Election Commission in Krakow is investigating the matter.
The case has been addressed by the Polish authorities. Prime Minister Donald Tusk tried to tone down the mood of some internet users who suggested that the elections had been rigged.
"Every reported case of irregularities in vote counting is checked and analysed. Possible falsifications are being investigated and will be punished. Protests will go to the Supreme Court. I understand emotions, but assuming in advance that the elections have been rigged does not serve the Polish state". - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in a post on the X platform.
The head of the office of the incumbent Polish president, Małgorzata Paprocka, commented on the matter on Saturday. Although she admitted that there had been an error in one of the commissions in counting the votes, she added in an interview with Trwam TV that she was concerned about attempts to question the election results.
"The myth of falsifying the election result, undermining the mandate of the president, trying to antagonise the public, trying to introduce such unrest is an absolutely scandalous thing," - she said during the interview. "Of course such a mistake should not have happened, of course it should be clarified, but it has no bearing," - Paprocka assessed.