Georgian PM says banning political parties is constitutional tool used in democracies

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday said that Ukraine, Moldova and other countries had banned political parties without such measures being considered violations of democratic principles.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that banning political parties was a constitutional instrument provided for under Georgia’s Constitution and those of virtually all democratic countries.

“Banning political parties is a constitutional instrument provided for under Georgia’s Constitution and those of virtually all democratic countries. Therefore, claims that initiating such proceedings automatically signals the start of undemocratic processes are pure speculation”, he said.

“There are specific precedents in Ukraine, Moldova and other countries where political parties have been banned, yet no one speaks of violations of democratic principles in those cases. On the contrary, this is a democratic, legal process. The key is for everyone to understand the substance of the lawsuit and base their legal assessments of the issue on it”, Kobakhidze concluded.