Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili may be impeached

On October 16, the Constitutional Court (CC) of Georgia, on the proposal of the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia”, established a violation by the President of the Republic Salome Zurabishvili of the fundamental law of the country. According to the court’s conclusion, Zurabishvili made foreign work visits on August 31, September 1 and 6, 2023 without the consent of the government. The decision of the Constitutional Court launches impeachment proceedings against the president. The chairman of the ruling party, Irakli Kobakhidze, said at a briefing that Zurabishvili is only “formally” fulfilling her duties from now until the end of her term next year. “If Salome had retained her basic dignity <...> she would resign immediately,” he said.

In early September, Georgian Dream was able to collect the necessary 50 signatures to send a request to the Constitutional Court. The ruling party considered Zurabishvili’s visits to Berlin, where she met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and to Brussels, where she met with the head of the European Council Charles Michel, to be a violation of the constitution. During these visits, Zurabishvili stated that Georgia was not ready for EU integration due to government policies. Over the past 12 months, the head of state has also been denied official visits to Ukraine, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Israel.

The court decision itself can so far only be used as a basis for putting the issue of impeachment to a vote, says Dmitry Gorbunov, partner at Rustam Kurmaev and Partners. The decision on impeachment must be made by parliamentarians during a vote. At the same time, at least 100 votes out of 150 must be cast for impeachment, recalls Gorbunov, and the ruling Georgian Dream has only 82 mandates. Kobakhidze is also aware of the fragility of the grounds for impeachment, declaring that Zurabishvili “violated the constitution” because she was confident that the vote would fail. At the same time, he expressed the hope that “at least a few opposition deputies will have enough patriotism or professional dignity.”

Zurabishvili in 2018 became the first Georgian president to cease serving as head of the executive branch after the constitutional reform of 2017. At the same time, Zurabishvili became the last directly elected president. In 2024, the head of state will be elected not for six, but for five years by the electoral college. The position of the current Georgian president, in contrast to the Georgian Dream and its government, is refusal of any cooperation with Russia. Zurabishvili opposed the introduction of the law on foreign agents, calling the document a copy of Russian, and supported the protesters against it in Tbilisi in March 2023. The bill, adopted by parliament in the first reading, was withdrawn.

Artur Ataev, head of the Caucasus studies sector at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, believes that Zurabishvili, who grew up in France and began her political career there, is poorly involved in Georgian society, but is trying to raise her profile by criticizing the ruling party, which cooperates with Moscow. “An irritant for her was the process of Russian-Georgian rapprochement, even limited forms of which began to have an economic effect,” the expert added. Despite Zurabishvili’s attacks on the authorities, she is an unsuitable figure for consolidating the Georgian opposition, Ataev believes. According to him, the president has no political prospects and does not have a team capable of challenging the Georgian Dream.

According to the expert, Zurabishvili’s resignation will depend on the decision of the founder of the Georgian Dream, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. “If the president passes the conditional red line drawn by the billionaire, impeachment will be a matter of time. And a consensus can be found on this issue even between opposing political forces,” the expert admits. But for now, Ataev believes, impeachment is unlikely: Georgian elites fear the reaction of the West, including economic sanctions.

The possible departure of Zurabishvili could have a positive impact on Russian-Georgian relations, says Caucasus expert Andrei Areshev. The president’s functions in Georgia’s political system are insignificant, but her destructive statements damaged bilateral ties, the expert believes.