GD’s Cheishvili: OSCE’s position on plans to ban Germany’s strongest opposition party is nowhere to be seen — this is a double standard

“We expect the parties to be banned. The Constitutional Court will make the final decision. I believe we have submitted more than sufficient evidence,” Irakli Cheishvili, a member of the parliamentary majority, said.

According to Cheishvili, everyone had witnessed the harm the United National Movement (UNM) had inflicted on Georgia and its people.

“In addition, we have submitted the findings of the investigative commission. We have also presented evidence of what the ‘traitorous opposition’ has done from 2012 to the present and how it has acted unconstitutionally. Its activities have gone beyond the constitutional order. Every step it takes is unconstitutional and aimed at discrediting the country and the government,” Cheishvili said.

Commenting on statements by the OSCE and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) regarding the ongoing proceedings, Cheishvili said the OSCE had not made similar statements about Germany, an EU member state seeking to ban a particular political party.

“Plans are underway in Germany to ban the strongest opposition party, which is practically the majority force in German politics. At any rate, the country’s political establishment is calling for its ban. What is most alarming is that, while proceedings are underway at the Constitutional Court, the OSCE has issued a statement questioning whether we should withdraw the lawsuit. It says that otherwise certain sanctions will be imposed because, supposedly, Georgia will lose its European future as a result.

“What the OSCE is doing is precisely an attempt to exert pressure on an independent court. It is wrong and unprecedented to call for the withdrawal of a lawsuit while court proceedings are underway. This is exactly what constitutes pressure on an independent judiciary,” Cheishvili said.

Regarding ALDE, he questioned whether Germany was depriving voters of political representation by seeking to ban an opposition party.

“Germany, which is called the beacon of democracy in the European Union, is trying to ban the number one opposition party in the country. Is that not depriving voters of representation? In my view, this party will form Germany’s next government. So where does that leave the OSCE’s position? This is precisely the double standard. Why is something acceptable for them but unacceptable for us?

“We have documented, with dates, what the United National Movement and these parties have done. Our lawsuit sets out the unconstitutional and treasonous steps they have taken. I do not understand what other evidence is needed. Georgia faced sharp criticism from European bureaucrats even before we sought to ban the parties. The criticism was constant long before we filed the request for their prohibition,” Cheishvili said.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Vice President recently called on the Georgian authorities to withdraw the constitutional lawsuit and end what she described as politically motivated persecution. ALDE, meanwhile, said major opposition parties faced the threat of being banned, potentially depriving hundreds of thousands of Georgian voters of political representation.

The Constitutional Court is reviewing a constitutional lawsuit filed by Georgian Dream seeking to declare the activities of five opposition parties unconstitutional and ban them: the United National Movement, Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia–Lelo, the Federalists, and Gakharia for Georgia.

The hearings began today and are scheduled to continue for three days. The court is due to resume consideration of the lawsuit today at 12:00 p.m.