Impeachment Proceedings Launched In Georgia Against President Zurabishvili
- 4.09.2023, 15:04
The procedure was initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The impeachment procedure for President Salome Zurabishvili has begun in Georgia, initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, Imedi TV channel reports. The party was able to collect the necessary 50 signatures of deputies to submit an application to the Constitutional Court.
Now the Constitutional Court must establish whether the President of Georgia violated the basic law by leaving for the EU without the permission of the government.
The Georgian Dream party accused Salome Zurabishvili of violating the Constitution of Georgia. The reason is the trips of the country's president to Europe, which the government did not agree on.
Earlier it became known that the Georgian government did not approve 10 foreign trips of Salome Zurabishvili. The message of the administration states that, according to the Constitution of Georgia, the president of the country “exercises representative powers in foreign relations only with the consent of the government of Georgia, and the implementation of the country's foreign policy is in the hands of the government.”
Salome Zurabishvili has been the head of Georgia since 2018, she is the first female president in the history of the country. For a long time she lived in France and worked in the French Foreign Ministry. Her term expires in autumn 2024.
Zurabishvili is the leader of the liberal Way of Georgia party. One of the points of her policy, which is not supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party, is the refusal of any cooperation with Russia, which the president considers an enemy of Georgia.
She supported the March protests in Georgia against the bill on “foreign agents” promoted by the ruling party and, according to opponents of the law, written “at the dictation of Moscow”.
In May, Zurabishvili referred to the decision of the Russian authorities to cancel the visa regime for Georgian citizens, introduced in 2000, and lift the ban on direct flights, as a provocation. She demanded the introduction of visas for Russians, supported protests against the resumption of flights with the Russian Federation and called for a boycott of the Georgian airline Georgian Airways, which began flying to Russia. In response, the airline's management declared the politician persona non grata.