The Political Council of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party decided to launch an impeachment procedure against President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, GD Chair Irakli Kobakhidze announced at the briefing.

The GD Chair said the President of Georgia violates the Constitution by starting visits to foreign countries without the consent of the government. He further noted that the Georgian Constitution outlines that the President, with the government’s consent, is authorized to manage foreign policy relations and engage in international negotiations.

Kobakhidze also remarked that the President’s actions contradict Georgia’s European integration aspirations.

“The President’s viewpoint is that Georgia did not deserve candidate status last year. Furthermore, in her view, the Georgian parliament and government formally fulfill the EU requirements which means that Georgia does not deserve candidate status this time.

Against the background of such an attitude, it is obvious that any European visit of the President of Georgia is counterproductive and directly opposes the Georgian government’s efforts to grant Georgia candidate status,” Kobakhidze stated.

The GD Chair explained that the launch of the impeachment procedure requires the support of 100 lawmakers, which means that the opposition should also vote pro.

“In order to initiate the impeachment procedure, the signatures of the members of the parliamentary majority will be collected in the coming days, and they will be submitted to the Constitutional Court,” he added.