Georgia’s parliament greenlights broader powers to outlaw parties

The Georgian parliament has approved, in a first reading, a legislative proposal to broaden the Constitutional Court’s powers to outlaw political parties.

The amendments to the law “On the Constitutional Court” were initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream party and received 83 votes in favour out of 102 lawmakers, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media.

The legislation currently allows the Constitutional Court to ban parties whose objectives involve the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, threats to national independence, or violations of the country’s territorial integrity.

The newly passed amendments would extend this authority by enabling the court to dissolve any political party whose declared aims or actual operations—including the submission of electoral lists—mirror those of a previously banned party. This would also apply if the candidate list largely replicates that of a prohibited organisation. Supporters of the bill argue that the legal changes are essential to prevent political groups previously banned for anti-constitutional behaviour from re-emerging under new names or structures. 

In March 2025, leaders from Georgian Dream announced their intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court to ban the opposition United National Movement and other political groups allegedly linked to it. The party has been a longstanding challenger to the ruling bloc. According to the ruling party, the proposed legal action is grounded in the findings of a special parliamentary investigative commission, which claims to have uncovered evidence of unconstitutional activity involving these groups.

By Naila Huseynova