Just a few days earlier, the ruling Georgian Dream party had threatened to dissolve the largest opposition group in parliament, the United National Movement (UNM), founded by former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
In addition to the UNM, the other pro-Western factions with seats in parliament are also threatened with closure, Kobakhidze said, because “in reality they are all one political force.” Any MPs elected on their platforms would not be allowed to take office, he said.
“I believe that the abolition of (parliamentary) mandates is the logical continuation of the ban on these parties. Criminal members of criminal political forces should not have the status of a deputy of the Georgian parliament,” Kobakhidze said.
POLITICO asked the European Commission for comment on Kobakhidze’s plans, which he said will not stand in the way of joining the EU, but received no immediate response.
“This effectively excludes any opposition that sees Georgian Dream as a threat,” said Tinatin Akhvlediani, researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies. “The only parallels to something like this are Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus or North Korea – it would be the end of Georgian democracy.”
Opposition parties have been trying to join forces ahead of the vote to defeat the Georgian Dream group, which has faced massive street protests in recent months over its introduction of a Russian-style law that brands Western-backed non-governmental organizations and media outlets as “foreign agents.”
