Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen: 22 parties banned in Ukraine, 8 in Moldova, around 150 in Europe over recent decades

Kakha Kaladze, Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Wednesday commented on developments at the Constitutional Court concerning a lawsuit to ban five opposition parties, saying that political parties cannot act on behalf of foreign forces against their own country.

In his remarks, Kaladze noted that Georgian politics had no longer been controlled from abroad since 2012, adding that the Georgian Government now made decisions in accordance with the will of the Georgian people.

“Things can no longer be as they were years ago, when Georgian politics was directed from abroad. This approach changed after 2012. It took some time, but we gradually did everything necessary to ensure that Georgia is now a fully independent state. The Georgian Government makes decisions based on the mandate of the Georgian people. The ultimate authority in this country belongs to the Georgian people”, he said.

“Representatives of the political parties can present counterarguments during the Constitutional Court hearings rather than make the political statements they are making”, Kaladze continued.

The Tbilisi Mayor added that political parties accused of criminal activities had also been banned in various European countries in recent decades.

“The specific cases and actions carried out by these political forces and politicians over the years at the direction of foreign forces constitute crimes. They received foreign funding and openly spoke about it. They went from office to office trying to prevent the country from obtaining candidate status and sought to prevent Georgia from signing the Association Agreement, among many other examples”, he said.

“I would also like to note that, when discussing party bans, 22 parties have been banned in Ukraine over the past three years, eight in Moldova over the same period, and around 150 parties have been banned in Europe over recent decades”, Kaladze concluded.