Salome Samadashvili, one of the leaders of Lelo Strong Georgia, said that in order to embolden his own political group ahead of a major crime, Ivanishvili had to step out of his comfort zone, personally chair a majority meeting and urge his political team not to be afraid to commit the crime.

She made the statement in response to yesterday’s Georgian Dream meeting and the planned hearings at the Constitutional Court concerning the proposed banning of political parties.

According to Samadashvili, “They know very well that they face severe political and legal accountability for what Ivanishvili is preparing against the Georgian state and the Constitution.”

“First and foremost, I hope our society understands that banning political parties in the country would, in reality, constitute an attempt by Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili to carry out a constitutional coup within the state by using the Constitutional Court.

A ban on political parties by the Constitutional Court would have two consequences.

First, more than one million Georgian citizens would lose the right to elect their own representatives, effectively abolishing the right to political choice in the country.

Second, Georgia’s door to Europe would be closed once and for all, which is in direct contradiction to our constitutional order.

When Bidzina Ivanishvili’s political team is preparing to commit such a grave crime, there are, of course, serious internal divisions within the group. We have seen, among other things, one of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s oldest friends and allies flee the Constitutional Court, which shows everyone just how acute the situation has become.

That is precisely why, ahead of this major crime, Ivanishvili had to step out of his comfort zone to embolden his own political group, personally chair a majority meeting and urge his political team not to be afraid to go ahead with this crime. They know that they face severe political and legal accountability for what Ivanishvili is preparing against the Georgian state and our Constitution,” Samadashvili said.