Polish president holds crisis talks amid constitutional court standoff

The Polish president convened urgent crisis talks with nationalist, far-right, and some coalition party leaders amid a dispute over the independence of the country's Constitutional Tribunal, Al Jazeera reported.

The talks followed the sudden suspension of the court's chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski, a figure appointed during the previous right-wing government, which has sparked ongoing protests by supporters of the Law and Justice party.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition party did not attend the talks and accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of seeking to undermine democracy and the rule of law in Poland.

The Constitutional Tribunal, responsible for constitutional matters, has been at the center of political controversy for years, with accusations of politicization under the former government, according to Al Jazeera.

Tusk described the removal of Swieczkowski as a necessary but difficult step to restore judicial neutrality and the rule of law after years of alleged erosion under the previous administration.