Kobakhidze: We decided to initiate the impeachment procedure against the president
Chairman of “Georgian Dream” Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the impeachment procedure against the President of Georgia begins.
“As you know, the President of Georgia, Mrs. Salome Zurabishvili, grossly violated the Constitution of Georgia and started a series of visits to foreign countries without the government’s consent. According to the Constitution of Georgia, only the Government of Georgia is authorised to implement both domestic and foreign policy of the country. According to Article 52, Clause 1, Sub-Clause “A” of the Constitution of Georgia, the President of Georgia can exercise representative powers in foreign relations only with the approval of the Government. Therefore, the text of the constitution does not leave even a minimal space for its non-uniform interpretation”, said Kobakhidze.
According to him, it is known to the public that the President of Georgia has a radically different attitude from the Government of Georgia towards the processes related to Georgia’s acceptance of the EU membership candidate status.
“His position is that Georgia did not deserve the candidate status last year. Moreover, according to his statement, the Parliament and the Government of Georgia are only formally fulfilling the requirements of the European Union, which means that, in his opinion, Georgia does not deserve the status of a candidate even now. Against the background of such an attitude, it is obvious that any European visit of the President of Georgia is counterproductive from the point of view of Georgia receiving the candidate status and directly opposes the efforts of the Georgian government to grant Georgia the said status.” – he noted.
The leaders of the opposition parties say that they will not support the initiative of the ruling party regarding the impeachment of Salome Zurabishvili and say that if someone is lustrated through the impeachment process, it will be a “Georgian dream”.
Paata Manjgaladze, a member of the “Reforms Group” of the parliamentary political group, and the general secretary of the “Strategy Agmashenebeli” party, says in a conversation with the media that “Georgian Dream” promises to impeach its elected president only because she has openly expressed her support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic course.
Even the main opposition party will not support the impeachment. According to the chairman of the party, Levan Khabeishvili, “the impeachment for the “National Movement” is a dirty game between Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Russian party, and they are not interested in this issue.”
The leader of the Party for Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, responded to the initiation of the impeachment procedure against the President of Georgia by the Georgian Dream. Gakharia assessed this decision as a step against Georgia’s European future.
According to current data, Georgian Dream does not have enough 100 votes for impeachment.
The Georgian Dream initiative was strongly criticised by the European partners.
“I am shocked by the plan to impeach President Salome Zurabishvili.” – writes MEP Marketa Gregorova on Twitter.
“The “Georgian dream” threatens the European dream of the Georgian people. I express my solidarity with the president of the state, Salome Zurabishvili, a true European leader,” – Michael Roth, chairman of the German Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, wrote on Twitter. Roth added that it is not the president but his impeachment attempt and the “orbanization of Georgia” by the Georgian Dream that threatens Georgia’s candidate status.
Salome Zurabishvili holds meetings in Europe
On August 31, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili met with her German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
According to the President’s administration, Salome Zurabishvili started her meetings with European leaders with a visit to the President of Germany to gather support for granting Georgia the EU membership candidate status. It should be noted that the government of Georgia refused the president’s planned visits to Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Israel.
On September 1, the President of Georgia met with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in Brussels.
Charles Michel responded to the meeting with Zurabishvili on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote that Georgia has the full support of the European Union on the way to European integration, however, Michel recalls the obligations that the country must fulfil to receive the status: “Further reforms are needed – justice, depolarization, de-oligarchization and the formation of an inclusive political culture.”
US Ambassador Kelly Degnan bids farewell to Georgians
US Ambassador Kelly Degnan published the farewell letter to Georgian citizens. She writes that during her time in Georgia she has learned that Georgians, like Americans, have fought for the unity and strength of their country. She stresses that Georgians throughout the centuries have preserved their freedom, faith and values, which define Georgian identity.
“To my Georgian friends and partners, three and a half years ago I came to Georgia to fulfil the most important duty of my life, to be a representative of the American people here in the capacity of the US ambassador. Georgia is a country with a long and rich history, which was at the crossroads of civilizations. It is a country with a unique culture based on traditions, famous for its soul-stirring polyphony, delicate monism of the alphabet and the prose and poetry of Chavchavadze, Vazha-Pshavela and Rustaveli, it is a land of mighty rivers, invisible emerald fields, floodplains, forests and captivating mountain peaks.
While I was here, I learned that Georgians, like Americans, fought oppression to unite, protect and strengthen their country. Over the centuries, Georgians have preserved the freedom, faith and values that define the Georgian identity. These are the common values and traditions that unite us: the spirit of independence, the creative spirit, compassion and courageous endurance.
I am inspired by the perseverance of many Georgians whom I had the honour to meet. This perseverance led to Georgia’s impressive progress and transformation over the last thirty years, to revive the principles on which the state of Georgia is based today and more than a hundred years ago: equality, justice, and democracy. These are the same principles that the United States strives to uphold. That is why America stands by the Georgian people to achieve your goal of greater stability, security and prosperity through European integration.
“Strength is in unity” – a truly outstanding motto for Georgia and America!” – she wrote.
Kelly Degnan will be replaced by Robin Dunnigan as US ambassador. The Senate approved her on 27 July.