Polish president cuts short foreign trip as constitutional crisis escalates in Warsaw
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Editor's note: This is a developing story.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal on Oct. 30, returning to Warsaw amid an escalating dispute over the leadership of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.
"At a moment like this, the president must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning,” Nawrocki wrote on X.
The confrontation follows a longstanding dispute over judicial appointments between pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government and Poland's conservative opposition, which is aligned with President Nawrocki.
The recent escalation followed the reported suspension of the tribunal's president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and deputy president, Bartłomiej Sochański, according to Reuters.
Święczkowski was accused by Tusk's government of blocking the appointment of judges selected by parliament.
The tribunal's leadership rejected the suspensions, claiming its website had been unlawfully taken over and accusing those responsible of attempting a coup.
Protesters gathered in front of the court and threw objects at police officers stationed outside the court and breached a perimeter fence, with three people detained.
Former deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk accused the government of attempting a coup, alleging that legally appointed judges were being prevented from entering the court.
"Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of lawlessness, it is a difficult process, sometimes painful and requires decisive action. There is no other way," Tusk wrote on X on Oct. 30.
