US envoy in Poland urges calm as constitutional tribunal crisis sparks ‘coup’ claims
US Ambassador Tom Rose called for restraint as protesters gathered outside Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal amid ‘coup’ allegations.
On the night of October 30, Poland's Constitutional Tribunal building was surrounded by police after the court announced the suspension of its president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy. Demonstrators gathered outside the building, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk asserting that restoring the rule of law required immediate action. Święczkowski's deputy, a member of the opposition, labeled the situation a "coup."
Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was in Senegal, returned to Poland to address the crisis. The conflict between Tusk's government and the opposition Law and Justice party, which dominated the government until 2023, has been ongoing for months. The dispute arose when Nawrocki, a supporter of Law and Justice, refused to appoint three new judges approved by the new parliament.
Tusk and his administration refuse to acknowledge the tribunal's legitimacy due to the presence of judges appointed by Law and Justice.
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