The Georgian parliament failed to impeach President Zurabishvili

The Georgian parliament was unable to get enough votes to impeach the country’s President Salome Zurabishvili; less than 100 deputies voted for her removal. The meeting was broadcast on the parliament website.

The impeachment of Zurabishvili was supported by 86 deputies, one parliamentarian spoke out against it. At least 100 votes out of 150 were required to approve the decision.

“The decision has not been made,” said parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili, summing up the voting results.

October 16, the Constitutional Court (CC) of Georgia, on the proposal of the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” installed Zurabishvili’s violation of the basic law of the country. According to the court’s conclusion, the President of Georgia made foreign working visits on August 31, September 1 and 6, 2023 without the consent of the government. The decision of the Constitutional Court launched impeachment proceedings against the president.

Georgian Dream considered Zurabishvili’s visits to Berlin, where she met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Brussels, where she met with the head of the European Council Charles Michel, to be a violation of the Constitution. Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili clarifiedthat the main reason was Zurabishvili’s speech in parliament, during which she stated that Georgia did not receive candidate status for EU membership because it did not deserve it.