Review of the lawsuit to ban five opposition parties continues in the Constitutional Court

Progress of the court process

The substantive review of the lawsuit regarding declaring the activities of five political parties — "Unity – National Movement," "Coalition for Change," "Strong Georgia – Lelo," "Federalist Party," and "Gakharia for Georgia" — unconstitutional and banning them continues in the Constitutional Court of Georgia. Sessions are scheduled throughout the week. The court process began on October 21, and at this time, the parties are at the stage of providing explanations. 1TV+7

Arguments of the plaintiff side

The representative of the plaintiff side, Archil Gorduladze, stated in court that the mentioned parties systematically engage in extremist and violent actions, deny the legitimacy of constitutional bodies, and pose a threat to the fundamental principles of the state. According to Gorduladze, the lawsuit is based on Article 23 of the Constitution and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, including the precedent of banning Spanish parties. According to the assessment of the ruling team, this process is a constitutional obligation and not a subjective political will. Imedi+5

Positions of the opposition and the court

Representatives of the opposition parties state that the ruling team is restricting the right to vote of a portion of the voters with the ongoing process. The opposition filed a number of motions before the court, including those regarding the questioning of witnesses and the submission of evidence. The Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Revaz Nadaraia, stated that the motion of the "Gakharia for Georgia" party was partially satisfied regarding the submission of video and printed materials, but the request to question witnesses was not satisfied. The court process will continue with the explanation of Ana Tsitlidze. Rustavi 2+7