The Constitutional Court of Georgia allowed the impeachment process against the president to begin

The Constitutional Court of Georgia determined the violation of the Georgian Constitution by the country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, the Imedi television channel reported on October 16.

Previously, the ruling Georgian Dream party launched impeachment proceedings against the president. Zurabishvili is accused of touring EU countries without government approval to meet with country heads and discuss the issue of Georgia’s European integration.

“The Constitutional Court of Georgia determined that the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, during her working visits abroad on August 31, September 1 and 6, 2023, exercised her representative powers in the field of foreign relations without the participation of the Government of Georgia. , thus violating paragraph one of article 52 of the Georgia Constitution. The court concludes that this is a violation of the Constitution.”said Georgian Constitutional Court President Merab Turava, adding that the conclusion is not subject to review or appeal.

It is worth noting that Zurabishvili was not present at the constitutional claim hearing on October 3-5. The prosecution was represented in court by the president of Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, who is also a doctor of science and specializes in constitutional law.

According to procedure, the question of impeachment must now be examined by Parliament; For its approval, 100 votes of the deputies are needed, while the parliamentary majority only has 84 mandates.

Authorities accuse the president of siding with the opposition and trying to prevent Georgia from gaining EU candidate status. In the spring of 2023, in the Georgian parliament, he stated that the people of Georgia, not the government, deserved candidate status. Zurabishvili also supported protests against the adoption of a law on mandatory registration of foreign agents in early March 2023, which led to riots.

Source: Rossa Primavera