Irakli Kobakhidze on European Parliament statement regarding lawsuit to ban parties: Without a successful lawsuit, we will remain trapped in a vicious cycle of polarization – and that is exactly what Rasa and her allies want

“We hope the lawsuit will succeed, ultimately answering one simple question: who is actually illegitimate – the government or the radical opposition and foreign agents?” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

According to him, the lawsuit filed by the ruling team is intended to “break the vicious cycle.”

“When the requirements we had to fulfil were presented to us, one of them was depolarization. In reality, everything has shown that this demand was a farce, for one simple reason: what these people, including Ms. Rasa in Georgia, actually want is polarization. Without a successful outcome in this lawsuit, we will remain trapped in a permanent vicious cycle of polarization. That is exactly what Ms. Rasa and her allies want – for Georgia to remain stuck in this cycle.

“Our lawsuit is intended precisely to break that cycle. Regarding the lawsuit, I will repeat one simple point: there are specific forces here, one political party – the collective National Movement – that continues to declare the government illegitimate. They want to establish this as the norm. Can someone declare the government illegitimate, or strike a police officer and go unpunished? Can someone spend years declaring the government illegitimate without the legal system responding? Of course, that is wrong.

“If someone declares the constitutional order illegitimate and attempts to overthrow it, there must be an appropriate legal response. That is precisely what this lawsuit, which we filed with the Constitutional Court, represents.

“We hope the lawsuit will succeed, ultimately answering one simple question: who is actually illegitimate – the government or the radical opposition and foreign agents?” Kobakhidze said.

He also spoke about what he described as double standards.

“We have seen the example of Ukraine, where 18 political parties were banned. Numerous political parties have also been banned in Moldova, yet no one there has claimed that banning a political party necessarily violates democratic principles. In principle, they could not have said so, because that is absurd. Yet the same absurd arguments that were not made in relation to Ukraine and Moldova have been made about Georgia. This shows that the whole matter is driven by a clear political motive. What is evident is the application of double standards.

“The same applies to elections. You know that elections have been held with serious irregularities in several countries around us. Moldova is a very good example, yet no substantial comments have been made about it there either. Double standards are evident everywhere. We need to uphold the rule of law, and that is what the processes we have initiated are intended to achieve,” Kobakhidze said.

Commenting more broadly on international assessments of the proceedings concerning the lawsuit to ban political parties, Kobakhidze described them as “a very blatant and clear attempt at political interference.”

According to the prime minister, no one has the right to interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

“This is a very regrettable development and clearly runs counter to traditional European values. I call on everyone to refrain as much as possible from interfering in our justice system.

“They should read the lawsuit, then read the ruling, and only then make legal assessments. Making political comments amounts to nothing more than blatant political interference in the independence of the judiciary,” Kobakhidze said.