Georgia’s ruling party moves to ban three opposition groups

Georgia’s ruling "Georgian Dream" has announced plans to petition the Constitutional Court to declare three opposition parties unconstitutional, including the United National Movement (UNM) founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The move was confirmed during a briefing by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, who said the ruling party intends to target three political associations: United National Movement, Coalition for Change — Gvaramia, Melia, Girchi, Droa, and Strong Georgia — Lelo for Georgia, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media. 

Papuashvili explained that the ruling party would file the lawsuit with the Constitutional Court once parliamentary procedures are completed. He noted that the case would first be reviewed by the parliamentary procedural committee, which is responsible for verifying the authenticity of the signatures supporting the petition. Only after that step would the case be sent to the court.

He added that the process would not be completed immediately, suggesting that the submission to the Constitutional Court would take place at a later date.

By Sabina Mammadli