Kipiani: Lawsuit Has Revived Ratings of Parties Named for Ban

Victor Kipiani, chairman of the party Lelo for Georgia, believes that if the government wanted to further marginalize the parties named in the lawsuit, it once again shot itself in the foot, because it has revived these parties' ratings. He told the "360 Degrees" program on Palitranews that he is responding to the ongoing process at the Constitutional Court, where the Georgian Dream lawsuit seeking a ban on five opposition political forces is being considered.

According to Kipiani, the Georgian Dream often assesses the parties named in the lawsuit as radical in nature and character, "but this step is, in fact, the government's radicalization of the process."

In his words: "What is happening now in Batumi is not a one-time act, it is one of the component links of continuous actions, the goal of which is to end the political process in the country. We have witnessed this approach from this government in various forms, especially since 2020, when a whole series of legislative changes, starting from freedom of expression, the functioning of parties, their financing, etc. Everything is moving toward ending politics in the country. The legal proceedings we are witnessing are nothing but a continuation of many years of attempts."

Kipiani also said: "Protest will go nowhere, it cannot disappear anywhere, and if discontent does not find civilized forms of expression, it will certainly find other forms of manifestation. With this approach, Georgian Dream is more radical than the parties whose radicalism it is trying to use this lawsuit to justify."

According to him, this approach is anti-statehood. Kipiani notes that there are differing opinions regarding the ratings of the parties named in the lawsuit, but the government has "made their image more popular. It has revived the opposition political field through these parties, given them a political platform and the means of political regeneration."