Ruling party to resume impeachment proceedings against Georgian president

Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party intends to re-launch impeachment proceedings against President Salome Zurabishvili, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told reporters.

"The parliamentary majority has decided to restart the impeachment procedure," he said, noting that MPs will appeal to the Constitutional Court before the parliamentary elections.

According to Papuashvili, the Georgian Dream took this step because of Zurabishvili's foreign visits, which she continues to make without the Prime Minister's consent. The parliament speaker emphasized that although Zurabishvili's term of office expires this year, it is important that she becomes not a former president, but an abdicated one through impeachment.

"She has become a repeat offender in terms of constitutional violations. The first violation is certainly her foreign visits. The second is that she is again not appointing ambassadors," he added.

At the same time, the Speaker expressed confidence that after the October 26 elections Georgian Dream will gain a constitutional majority and will bring the impeachment procedure against the President to an end at the first session of the newly elected parliament.

Foreign visits unauthorized by the government have caused conflict between Zurabishvili and the ruling party. Last year, Georgian Dream filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court demanding the impeachment of the president, which in October found Zurabishvili in violation of the law. But the impeachment failed due to a lack of votes in parliament. Despite the court ruling, Zurabishvili continues to travel abroad without the consent of the head of the government.

reprinted from ria.ru