The ruling party coalition led by Georgian Dream has today submitted a joint constitutional lawsuit with its allies to the Constitutional Court of Georgia seeking to declare three major opposition forces unconstitutional and ban their activity, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced at a briefing in the legislative assembly.
Papuashvili claimed that the petition targets the following registered parties: Unity – National Movement (UNM), the Coalition for Change – Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi, Droa – and the Strong Georgia – Lelo, For the People, For Freedom.
“The petition demands that certain political parties be declared unconstitutional and prohibited,” Papuashvili said.
“Article 23 of the Constitution of Georgia considers the activities of a political party ‘inadmissible’ if its goal is to overthrow or alter the constitutional order of Georgia by force, threaten the country’s independence, violate its territorial integrity, engage in propaganda for war or violence, or incite national, ethnic, sectarian, religious or social discord.”
The Speaker further explained that the legal justification rests on findings of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia, which reviewed alleged wrongdoing by the UNM and its satellite parties from 2003 to 2025.
“Between 2004 and 2012, the United National Movement violated fundamental human rights … systematically infringed media freedom, property rights, introduced torture practices in penitentiaries, engaged in illegal surveillance of individuals,” Papuashvili said.
“Since 2012, these parties have attempted to overthrow or violently alter Georgia’s constitutional order multiple times.”
In February and April 2025, the Parliament established a Temporary Investigative Commission to examine the period of UNM’s rule (2003–2012) and its alleged continuation through affiliated parties until the present. Following six-months of work—64 public hearings, 139 witnesses, 778 citizen applications—and the presentation of a nearly 500-page report, the Parliament adopted a resolution on 3 September 2025 to publicise the findings. The ruling coalition argues that the report provides the constitutional basis for banning the targeted parties.
Under Georgian law, political parties may be declared unconstitutional if their goals or activities aim at forcefully altering the constitutional order, threatening state independence or territorial integrity, or inciting violence or discord. The government’s move comes amid wider concerns about democratic backsliding and the use of state institutions to restrict opposition in Georgia.
Related story: Papuashvili: Georgian Dream won’t currently seek constitutional court ban on individual political activity
