Georgia eyes ban on opposition party founded by ex-president Saakashvili

Georgian authorities plan to file a lawsuit in October with the Constitutional Court seeking to ban the opposition party United National Movement, founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, along with other political groups aligned with its policies.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who told journalists, “Most likely, in October, we will file a lawsuit to declare all parties that are part of the collective ‘National Movement’ unconstitutional. This is a democratic process, and the lawsuit will definitely be filed with the Constitutional Court.”

Saakashvili, who also holds Ukrainian citizenship, has faced multiple legal convictions in Georgia.

On May 21, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling against him over illegal crossing of Georgia’s state border, dismissing his appeal and maintaining the original sentence.

Earlier, on March 17, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Saakashvili to four years and six months in prison for the border violation, part of which is to be served consecutively with an eight-year term from a March 12 conviction that also barred him from holding public office for three years.

Judge Mikheil Jinjolia stated, “The court finds Saakashvili guilty in the case concerning unlawful border crossing. He is sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment, part of which is to be served consecutively with the earlier eight-year term.”

Under Georgian law, his prison term is calculated from October 1, 2021.

Unless granted a presidential pardon or conditional release by the parole board — which considers the offence’s severity, prisoner conduct, and risk assessments — Saakashvili is expected to remain in prison until 2034.

By Tamilla Hasanova