The ruling Georgian Dream coalition has filed a constitutional lawsuit seeking to declare three of Georgia’s largest opposition parties illegal, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced on Monday. The move targets the United National Movement (UNM), the Coalition for Change, and the Strong Georgia–Lelo bloc.
Papuashvili said the petition is based on Article 23 of Georgia’s Constitution, which prohibits parties that attempt to overthrow the constitutional order, threaten national independence, or incite violence or social discord. He cited findings from a Temporary Investigative Commission that examined alleged wrongdoing by the UNM and affiliated parties between 2003 and 2025.
“Between 2004 and 2012, the UNM violated fundamental human rights, restricted media freedom, and engaged in illegal surveillance and torture,” Papuashvili said. “Since then, these parties have repeatedly tried to alter Georgia’s constitutional order by force.”
The parliamentary commission conducted 64 public hearings, heard from 139 witnesses, and reviewed 778 citizen submissions, producing a nearly 500-page report that the ruling coalition says provides the legal foundation for the ban.
Opposition leaders reacted sharply. Mamuka Khazaradze, head of Strong Georgia–Lelo, posted on social media: “You are right to fear ‘Strong Georgia.’ We will make you pay anyway!”
Critics warn that the lawsuit is a worrying step toward authoritarianism in a country long seen as a democratic and pro-Western model in the post-Soviet space. Reuters described the filing as “a sharp escalation in the drive toward authoritarian rule,” noting that all three targeted parties are strongly pro-Western.
The political climate has been tense for months, with repeated anti-government protests, arrests of opposition figures, and new laws making it easier to outlaw political parties. Georgian Dream says these measures are necessary to protect the constitution, while opponents call them a political purge.
International Response
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for Georgia, Edite Estrela and Sabina Cudic, warned that banning opposition parties could create a one-party system incompatible with Council of Europe membership. They urged the ruling party to reconsider the lawsuit and announced plans for a fact-finding visit before the end of the year.
A PACE resolution in October 2025 explicitly cautioned that outlawing opposition groups would weaken democratic checks and balances in Georgia. The Assembly said authorities have “systematically ignored” concerns about democratic decline and hostility toward European institutions.
The Constitutional Court will next decide whether to accept the lawsuit. Civil society groups and opposition parties are expected to mobilize both domestic and international support. The outcome could reshape Georgia’s political landscape, influencing media freedom, electoral competition, and the country’s relations with Europe.
By Team GT
