“The parliamentary majority has decided to initiate the impeachment procedure again. Following the confirmation of the violation of the Constitution by the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the newly convened Parliament, in its very first sessions, will remove Salome Zourabichvili from office by impeachment with no less than 100 votes,” Shalva Papuashvili, Georgian Parliament Speaker and the Georgian Dream political council member stated during a briefing at the party office.

“As you know, on 16 October 2023, the Constitutional Court of Georgia declared Salome Zourabichvili a violator of the Constitution within the framework of the impeachment procedure and confirmed the requirement established by Article 52 of the Constitution of Georgia, which states that the President may undertake foreign visits only with the consent of the Government of Georgia.

You are also aware that after the confirmation of the violation of the Constitution, Salome Zourabichvili retained the position of President only with the support of Parliament deputies from the radical opposition.

Having received guarantees of immunity from the radical opposition regarding the violation of the Constitution, Salome Zourabichvili continued to grossly violate the Constitution of Georgia. Specifically, even after the conclusion of the impeachment procedure, she undertook several foreign visits without the consent of the Government of Georgia, including a visit last week to France, Germany, Poland, and Belgium.

It is important to note that while foreign countries and organizations might have claimed ignorance regarding the requirement for the President to obtain government consent for visits prior to the Constitutional Court’s decision, receiving Salome Zourabichvili without the mandatory consent of the Government of Georgia after this decision constitutes deliberate disrespect of the Georgian people and their constitutional order. Moreover, it violates the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the country and stands in opposition to our shared European values.

Our Constitution is the fundamental act in which the will of the Georgian people is particularly reflected; therefore, its deliberate, open, and brazen violation cannot go unaddressed.

Consequently, the parliamentary majority has decided to initiate the impeachment procedure again and prepare a new constitutional proposal, which will be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Georgia before the parliamentary elections.

Following the confirmation of the violation of the Constitution by the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the newly convened Parliament, in its very first sessions, will remove Salome Zourabichvili from office by impeachment with no less than 100 votes.

As you know, Salome Zourabichvili’s term of office is set to expire this year. Accordingly, her removal by impeachment will shorten her term by a maximum of one month. Therefore, the impeachment process to remove her from office has primarily symbolic significance in terms of the duration of her powers; however, the legal and political implications of this decision are highly significant.

The deliberate, gross, and systematic violation of the main law of the Georgian people cannot go unpunished. Salome Zourabichvili, who has violated the Constitution, should retain the status of a removed president rather than a former president. This, as a precedent, will play a crucial preventive role in avoiding such abuses in the future and strengthening Georgian democracy,” stated Papuashvili.