"A Matter of Principle": Georgian Authorities to Re-Initiate Presidential Impeachment Procedure
Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, is re-initiating the impeachment procedure against President Salome Zurabishvili. This was announced at a briefing by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
Papuashvili stressed that the president has made several foreign visits without the consent of the Georgian government, including a visit last week to France, Germany, Poland, and Belgium.
It is noteworthy that just a month and a half after the parliamentary elections, presidential elections are also scheduled to take place in Georgia. Thus, Zurabishvili's chances of retaining her presidency are already slim. However, according to Papuashvili, the decision initiated by the authorities is a matter of principle.
"The legal and political implications of this decision are very fundamental. We cannot leave unpunished a deliberate, gross, and systematic violation of the fundamental law of the Georgian people. "Salome Zurabishvili, who violated the Constitution, should remain not the former president, but the deposed president, which, as a precedent, will play an important preventive role in preventing such arbitrariness and strengthening Georgian democracy in the future," said Shalva Papuashvili.
The last time, the Georgian Dream announced the launch of impeachment proceedings against Zurabishvili in September 2023. The reason, as this time, was her foreign visits, in particular, a trip to Europe for talks with the presidents of Germany and France, as well as a meeting with the head of the European Council, which the government refused to allow her. Thus, Zurabishvili violated the constitution, according to which the president can exercise representative functions in foreign policy only with the consent of the country's government. As a result, the impeachment did not take place due to a lack of votes.
Salome Zurabishvili criticizes the ruling party of Georgia and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, accusing them of rapprochement with the Russian Federation. Thus, the president recently said that the statements of the Georgian Dream and Ivanishvili that they are leading the country to Europe are a lie. According to her, this party "plays and dances to the music of Moscow."
"By adopting pro-Russian laws, it is impossible to go to the EU, and the Georgian Dream has been reminded of this more than once in the West. By acting in this way, you will not be able to enter the European Union. But this window is open for the Georgian people, who have a chance, as democracy requires. I do not know who depends on whom and why, or what invisible threads connect some people in Georgia with Moscow, but the fact remains: Georgia has been following Russian scenarios for several years now," Zurabishvili said.
