WARSAW, Poland, June 23, 2018 (News Wires) — Poland's former president and pro-democracy leader, Lech Walesa, says he is joining forces with the opposition to prevent the right-wing ruling party from winning a string of upcoming elections. The 74-year-old Walesa addressed a meeting of opposition parties and activists Saturday in the Baltic city of Gdansk, at the center dedicated to the Solidarity movement that he led in the 1980s and that brought democracy to Poland. He said the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party is threatening democracy, and that a joint effort was needed to prevent the party from winning local and presidential elections. The meeting comes as questions are being raised about the future of Law and Justice due to the illness of its leader and strategist, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.