Court ruling in favour of opposition party ban case will create opportunity for Georgian democracy, ruling party MP

A ruling in favour of the lawsuit seeking to ban five opposition parties would create an opportunity for Georgian democracy, Archil Gorduladze, chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Legal Issues, said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists before a hearing at the Constitutional Court, Gorduladze said representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party were ready to answer questions from judges and present further evidence concerning what they described as unconstitutional activities by the United National Movement (UNM) and other opposition parties.

He accused opposition representatives of using the previous five days of court proceedings to make political statements, distort facts and turn the hearings into a political platform. He said the ruling party was prepared to address each issue raised by the judges and defend the arguments presented in its constitutional lawsuit.

Gorduladze said the court should assess the activities of the opposition parties both since 2012 and during the period from 2004 to 2012, when the UNM was in power under former president Mikheil Saakashvili.

He alleged that the five political groups operated in close coordination, despite their separate organisational structures, and accused them of acting against Georgia’s sovereignty and constitutional order. Referring to recent political developments, he cited their response to the Chinese vice-president’s visit to Georgia, claiming that opposition parties and media outlets associated with them had largely ignored the event or given it limited coverage.

Gorduladze also referred to cases considered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), claiming that 80% of 227 cases involving judgments against Georgia concerned the 2004-2012 period. He said those cases included findings relating to torture, violations of the right to life, extortion, and breaches of the rights to a fair trial and privacy.

He accused the opposition parties of failing to distance themselves from abuses committed under the previous government, arguing that some of their current representatives had maintained political alliances with individuals and groups associated with the former administration.

The committee chairman also criticised UNM MP Anna Tsitlidze over her comments concerning allegations of sexual abuse in prisons during the previous government. Gorduladze said UNM representatives had opposed attaching the findings of a parliamentary investigative commission to the constitutional lawsuit because the report referred to testimony by a prison officer admitting to the sexual abuse of a detainee who had been restrained with adhesive tape.

He accused Tsitlidze and other UNM representatives of dismissing evidence of abuse documented during the previous government's tenure. He also referred to the discovery of prison footage and recordings documenting torture and degrading treatment of detainees, which became public in 2012.

Gorduladze further criticised former president Mikheil Saakashvili's statements about the events of 7 November 2007, when police dispersed anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi and the authorities shut down the Imedi television station. He said the former president had denied that human rights violations had occurred during the crackdown.

Gorduladze claimed the opposition parties had neither acknowledged responsibility for the abuses nor apologised to the public. He maintained that the constitutional lawsuit was well-founded and that the court's assessment was necessary to ensure that political competition took place within the framework of the Constitution.

“If the Constitutional Court upholds our lawsuit, this will create an opportunity for Georgian democracy,” Gorduladze said, adding that the country needed an opposition committed to its peaceful and democratic development.

The Constitutional Court is examining a lawsuit filed by 88 Georgian Dream MPs seeking to declare the activities of five opposition political groups unconstitutional and prohibit them - Unity - National Movement, Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia - Lelo, the Federalist Party and Gakharia for Georgia.

The proceedings began on 21 October. The plaintiffs argue that the parties' activities threaten Georgia's constitutional order, independence and territorial integrity. The case is being heard by the Constitutional Court's Plenum.

The court was scheduled to resume hearings on 9 November, but the session was postponed because of a judge's health condition. Proceedings resumed on 10 November, with further hearings scheduled for 11, 12 and 13 November.