Georgian parliament fails to impeach president over unsanctioned EU visits

Georgia’s ruling party failed in its bid to impeach President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday.

The ruling Georgian Dream party launched the impeachment procedure after Zourabichvili held meetings with European leaders to lobby for Georgia’s EU candidacy, despite not having authorization from the government to do so. Georgian Dream needed 100 votes in parliament to impeach the president, but got the support of just 86 lawmakers.

On Monday, Georgia’s Constitutional Court — which the opposition says is under government influence — ruled that the president had violated the constitution, authorizing the parliament to hold the vote.

Speaking to parliament on Wednesday, Zourabichvili said the court’s decision would be remembered for strengthening one-party rule over the judicial system. She also criticized the ruling party for treating Russian leaders with respect while acting against Georgia’s European future.

“What do you have to say in your defense when you’re taking this step … which builds a new barricade on our path to Europe?” Zourabichvili asked MPs rhetorically.

“I want to address our European partners and call on them not to abandon Georgia despite this anti-European impeachment. Russia shouldn’t be allowed to strengthen its influence in this region, be it by the use of soft power, indirect occupation, or destabilizing the Black Sea.”

Over the course of this year, the Georgian government denied Zourabichvili permission to make a number of visits, including to Ukraine and several EU capitals.

Despite the refusals, Zurabishvili held meetings in Berlin and Brussels in August and September. After her meeting with European Council President Charles Michel, he tweeted that he welcomed Zourabichvili’s commitment to advance on the EU path and said that she had the EU’s full support. 

Ceremonial impeachment

Although she was running as an independent, Zourabichvili was strongly supported by Georgian Dream during her 2018 presidential election campaign. But the relationship soon turned sour.

Unlike Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia failed to secure EU membership candidate status last year. It was only granted a “European perspective” by the EU, with the promise to receive candidate status if it fulfilled a dozen reforms, including on the rule of law and human rights. 

Zourabichvili insisted that her European visits — which she said were in a private capacity — were intended to boost Georgia’s chances of receiving candidate status. But the ruling party accused her of trying to damage those same EU aspirations.

From the very beginning, Georgian Dream acknowledged that the impeachment vote was unlikely to gain enough votes. But the party’s chairman, Irakli Kobakhidze, claimed it was important to establish that the president violated the constitution. 

After the court’s announcement, he called Zourabichvili a “lame duck.”

Zurabishvili reciprocated by saying the ruling party members were “little men” whom she wasn’t afraid to face.