“Today is a shameful day for Georgia, for Georgian statehood. It is the day when Georgian Dream is attempting—and will fail—to definitively bury democracy, the state, and our standing in the world.” Salome Zourabichvili, the fifth president of Georgia, made this statement in a special video address regarding the opening of hearings on Georgian Dream’s lawsuit seeking to outlaw pro-Western political forces.
According to Zourabichvili, banning all opposition parties—especially through the Constitutional Court—is unprecedented, with no country having ever undertaken anything of the kind: a “total ban on absolutely everyone.”
“If anyone can name even a single independent institution that is not entirely under the control of Georgian Dream, I will present a special award,” she said, also criticizing former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s party, “For Georgia” (Gakharia for Georgia). During the proceedings on the constitutional lawsuit, representatives of the party filed a motion to sever their case into separate proceedings; however, the petition was denied. Concurrently with the trial, members of the party posted critical remarks targeting other opposition figures on social media.
“While such an ignominious event is taking place, there is neither solidarity nor support for others—what difference does it make which particular political party is targeted?
I, my preferences, your preferences have nothing to do with it. This is a nationwide problem, a shared calamity, because today we look truly shameful in the eyes of the entire world. And if a single party and a few of its representatives fail to grasp this, if parliamentary salaries and seats are more important to them than the country, we all need to know about it,” Zourabichvili stressed.
Concluding her five-minute video address, she called on citizens to unite and stand up in defense of the country’s national interests.
