UPDATE: Polish parliament reconvening amid crisis

The sitting was started on Wednesday evening by Speaker Marek Kuchciński, but only lasted some three minutes before he called a recess until the next morning.

The session was disputed by opposition MPs who argued that the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which holds a majority in parliament, is moving ahead with a controversial vote on the 2017 budget.

PiS says that the vote, which was held in an ancillary room on 16 December was in line with regulations, and the decision of a change of venue was taken because opposition MPs were occupying the parliamentary hall, blocking proceedings.

On Wednesday, Senate passed the bill, and it is now waiting to be signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Deputies from the opposition Civic Platform (PO) and Nowoczesna parties have been staging a sit-in protest since the disputed December vote. PO has vowed to disrupt further proceedings in parliament by blocking the rostrum as they did during Wednesday's brief sitting.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has called the actions by the opposition a “coup”, and has repeatedly said that the opposition deputies staging the protest are breaking the law, and suggested that legal steps should be taken against them. (rg)