Georgia’s ruling party announced on Friday, the 1st of September, that it has started impeachment proceedings against the country’s President, Salome Zourabichvili. The party alleged that the president breached the constitution by traveling to the European Union without obtaining the government’s approval, based on the details from the Georgian news agency InterPressNews, reports Politico.
“The Georgian government’s goal is to strengthen the country, including its foreign positions,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, “we see that Salome Zurabishvili is acting against the interests of the government.”
According to Kobakhidze, Zurabishvili’s visits to the European Union would reduce Georgia’s chances of obtaining candidate status and directly contradict the government’s aspirations.
Kobakhidze argued that the Georgian government’s decision to reject the President’s proposed European tours was “both legally and politically” justified. He believes that Georgia deserves candidate status and that this decision is in line with this position.
However, he is aware that a successful impeachment was unlikely as it would require the support of 100 MPs, including opposition MPs.
Despite this challenge, the party has chosen to launch a signature collection process.
Georgia, which applied for EU membership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has faced difficulties on the way to this goal.
Concerns have been raised that the ruling Georgian Dream party is seeking to strengthen economic ties with Russia.
Brussels has warned the Tbilisi administration about the observed shortcomings in the rule of law and respect for human rights in the country.
The EU refrained from granting Georgia candidate status in 2022 and instead came up with a package of 12 reform recommendations to be met to be granted candidacy.
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