Opposition parties do not recognize the legitimacy of constitutional bodies, which is a primary indicator of a failure to recognize democracy – Shalva Papuashvili

According to the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, statements by opposition parties—claiming that the Constitutional Court’s ruling has been predetermined—serve to confirm the validity of the lawsuit filed by "Georgian Dream."

As Papuashvili told journalists, opposition parties do not acknowledge the legitimacy of constitutional bodies; in his view, this signifies a failure to recognize democracy. "The very position articulated by these 'unconstitutional parties'—including during the Constitutional Court proceedings—substantiates our claim. They allege that the Constitutional Court will issue a ruling 'written in Moscow,' claim that the Court lacks independence, and assert that it has been pre-instructed on what decision to reach—and so on. In doing so, they confirm one of our accusations against them: that they do not recognize the legitimacy of constitutional bodies—a primary indicator of their rejection of democracy," stated Papuashvili.

He added that the statements made by the opposition, along with the motions they filed in court, further reinforce the validity of the ruling team's claim.

According to Papuashvili, the opposition parties are attempting to lay the groundwork for a potential appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, in the event that the Constitutional Court rules them to be unconstitutional. "It is evident that, should the Constitutional Court rule that these entities are unconstitutional, they are clearly attempting to preemptively lay false groundwork for the European Court of Human Rights. I believe the public has also become well aware that the motions they submitted were entirely groundless," noted the Speaker of Parliament.

He explained that some of the motions filed by the opposition parties concerned the recusal of the entire bench of the Court, as well as that of individual judges. According to Papuashvili, the primary basis for these motions remained an attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court.

For context, since October 21, the Constitutional Court has been reviewing a constitutional claim filed by "Georgian Dream," which seeks to have the "United National Movement," "Coalition for Change," "Strong Georgia – Lelo," the "Federalists," and "Gakharia for Georgia" declared unconstitutional and subsequently banned.