The Georgian government will expand the purview of its proposed ban of political parties to include individual politicians. Under the proposed additions, announced by the ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday, politicians associated with parties banned by the Constitutional Court will also be prohibited from playing any role in political life in the country.
Georgian Dream had pledged before the 2024 parliamentary elections to petition the Constitutional Court to ban the former ruling party United National Movement (UNM), as well as other opposition parties that the ruling party considers to be ‘satellites’ of the UNM.
Using the loose term the ‘collective UNM’ to characterise all major opposition parties, Georgian Dream laid the groundwork to systematically remove virtually all parties — including those that have yet to be created — from the political arena.
The proposed changes announced on Monday went even further.
According to the draft legislation, if the Constitutional Court cancels a party’s registration, politicians affiliated with that party will be banned from founding, leading, or joining political parties, holding party positions, or occupying state-political or constitutional leadership roles.
It will also be prohibited to include such individuals in electoral lists; if they are listed, the party’s registration will be revoked. Consequently, these individuals will lose the right to participate in elections altogether.
Political parties that fail to follow the proposed changes will face unspecified criminal penalties, Georgian Dream said.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze commented on the proposed ban on Tuesday.
‘The principle is as follows: first, those who were representatives of the bloody regime before 2012 will definitely be included in this lawsuit. As for the period after 2012 — anyone who, together with this bloody political force, participated in continuous sabotage against the country will, of course, also be affected by this constitutional lawsuit. The rest will be decided by the Constitutional Court’, Kobakhidze said.
‘This will not apply to just one or two parties. You will see the full list once the lawsuit is submitted to the Constitutional Court and that will happen very soon’, he added.
The plan to ban political parties is closely linked to a parliamentary ‘fact-finding commission’ that Georgian Dream established in February, with the aim of studying the period of the UNM rule and ultimately to punish the party.
The UNM, which governed Georgia from 2003–2012, has been repeatedly accused by Georgian Dream of anti-state activities, which included accusations about provoking and starting the August 2008 War.
OC Media
