POLITICO: Georgia goes ‘North Korea’ with bombshell plan to ban main opposition parties

• JAMnews

• Tbilisi26.08.2024
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POLITICO on the opposition ban in Georgia

The influential American publication POLITICO has published an article stating that the Georgian government, by planning to ban opposition parties, is putting the country “on the path to North Korea,” and the ambitions of the Georgian people to join the European Union are now under new threat.

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“After their ban, the logical next step would be to strip them of their parliamentary mandates,” stated the prime minister

According to a statement from the ruling party’s political council, later reiterated by party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, the ruling team needs a constitutional majority in parliament to initiate a legal process that would declare the “United National Movement” (UNM, the main opposition party founded by Mikheil Saakashvili) and all its satellite or successor parties unconstitutional.

Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze even provided a specific list, which, in addition to the UNM, includes four other parties.

“This will eliminate the entire opposition, which ‘Georgian Dream’ sees as a threat. The only comparison can be made with Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus and North Korea. This will mark the end of Georgian democracy,” says Tinatin Akhvlediani from the European Center for Political Studies.

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According to POLITICO, a “ban on the opposition” would put an end to Georgia’s already stalled aspiration to join the European Union.

Irakli Kobakhidze claims that the ruling party’s plans do not block the country’s path to the EU. POLITICO has reached out to the European Commission for comment but has not yet received a response.

The outlet also addresses Kobakhidze’s assertion that similar measures were taken in Ukraine and Moldova without threatening the bridges built between these countries and the West.

“The two Eastern European countries have banned specific pro-Moscow factions in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine and amid warnings they had been working to stage coups — but both have still maintained vibrant multi-party systems,” POLITICO states.

The publication highlights that Georgia’s EU accession process is already on hold due to deteriorating human rights conditions, and the US has suspended funding for the Georgian government due to its tilt towards the Kremlin.