The ruling Georgian Dream party has announced its plans to demand that the Constitutional Court ban the country’s main opposition parties in October. The request will be based on the conclusions of a parliamentary commission aimed at investigating the opposition which concluded its work in August.
Speaking about the upcoming lawsuit on Saturday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that ‘this is a democratic process’.
‘The relevant lawsuit should be filed in October’, he added.
Kobakhidze reiterated that the list of parties Georgian Dream intended to ban include both the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM), as well as other key opposition groups the current government alleges are affiliated with the UNM.
The commission, whose work served as a pretext for the lawsuit, was created by Georgian Dream in February with the aim of punishing the UNM.
While the commission’s initial mandate was limited to UNM’s years in power (2003–2012), it was later expanded to cover the period up to the present day — effectively giving Georgian Dream free reign to target virtually any opposition figure.
At least six major opposition leaders have been jailed for refusing to appear before the commission. Two of them were later pardoned.
In the commission’s 470-page final report, the ruling party concluded that the former government’s rule was marked by the politically motivated violence, murder of prisoners, media censorship, and corruption.
Among the report’s most controversial aspects is its insinuation that Georgia was responsible for provoking the August 2008 War, which critics argue downplays Russia’s responsibility for the war. Family members of fallen soldiers of the Georgian Army, as well as some current and former military personnel, have joined the criticism.
In its foreword, the report claimed that the ‘radical opposition’ — a term the ruling party uses to refer to Georgia’s pro-Western opposition groups — has, since 2012, ‘been a decisive obstacle to the establishment of a healthy political system in Georgia’.
To underscore the alleged ties between the UNM and all major opposition parties operating in the country, Georgian Dream often uses the term ‘UNM satellites’. This claim targeted a wide range of parties, including For Georgia — a party founded in 2021 by former Georgian Dream Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, a sharp critic of the UNM.
Accordingly, when it files the lawsuit, the ruling party will seek not only to ban the UNM but also Gakharia’s party, as well as Ahali, founded by former UNM leader Nika Melia together with former UNM official-turned-opposition media figure Nika Gvaramia.
The ban request will also extend to the Lelo party, established in 2019 by TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Kobakhidze has previously named all of these parties as targets for prohibition.
In May, the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament sharply eased the process of eliminating undesirable parties. According to the amendments, the Constitutional Court can now ban a party if its goals and composition align with those of a party that has already been outlawed.
Both the anti-opposition commission’s work and other parliamentary activities — including the adoption of restrictive laws targeting dissent — have been carried out by Georgian Dream amid an opposition boycott of parliament, allowing the ruling party and its allies to exercise full control over the legislative body.
Yousef Bardouka
