The ruling Georgian Dream party says it plans to once again start the impeachment procedure of the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili.
Member of the political council of Georgian Dream, the chairman of the parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, announced this at a briefing held at the party’s office.
He explained that the reason for making the decision is still her unauthorized visits abroad.
Papuashvili claimed that the new constitutional proposal will be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia before the parliamentary elections, and the parliament of the new convocation will discuss the issue in the very first sessions.
“On October 16, 2023, the Constitutional Court of Georgia, as part of the impeachment procedure, declared Salome Zurabishvili a violator of the Constitution and confirmed the rule established by Article 52 of the Constitution of Georgia that the President has the right to make a foreign visit only with the consent of the Government of Georgia. After confirming the fact of the violation, Salome Zurabishvili kept the position of the president only at the expense of the support of parliamentarians representing the radical opposition.
“Salome Zurabishvili received a guarantee of inviolability from the radical opposition in the matter of violation of the Constitution, and later she continued to violate the Constitution of Georgia. In particular, even after the completion of the impeachment procedure, she made several foreign visits without the consent of the Georgian government, including last week he visited France, Germany, Poland and Belgium.
“It should be noted that if before the decision of the Constitutional Court, foreign countries and organizations could say that they were not aware that the president needed the government’s consent for his visit, after this decision, the reception of Salome Zurabishvili without the mandatory consent of the Georgian government, together with the intentional disrespect of the Georgian people and its constitutional arrangement, It is a violation of the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and is against our common European values. Our constitution is the fundamental act in which the will of the Georgian people finds a special reflection, therefore its deliberate, open and brazen violation cannot remain without response. Therefore, the parliamentary majority made a decision to restart the impeachment procedure and prepare a new constitutional submission, which will be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia before the parliamentary elections,” Papuashvili stated.
Georgian Dream first started the impeachment procedure against the President in September 2023.
Related story: Impeachment of President Salome Zurabishvili fails, with only 86 votes for and 1 against
