Batumi, 21 October. Georgia's Constitutional Court began hearing a lawsuit by 88 Georgian Dream MPs seeking to ban five opposition forces: the United National Movement, founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Coalition for Change, Lelo – Strong Georgia, the Federalists, and Gakharia for Georgia, the party of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
The first session opened in Batumi, where the court is based, at 12:30 local time; the case is being heard by a plenum of seven judges, and the day before the court allowed video recording and live broadcasting. Hearings are scheduled for 21, 22 and 23 October, the first stage of the proceedings; the court must deliver its ruling by 24 June 2027. The ruling party is represented in court by MPs Archil Gorduladze, Giorgi Kakhiani, Tengiz Sharmanashvili and Tornike Cheishvili. According to the plaintiffs, the opposition parties seek to overthrow the constitutional order, undermine the country's independence and try to seize power by force.
Gakharia's party asked the court to examine its case separately from the others. Gakharia for Georgia is the only opposition party that remains in parliament, with 11 of the 150 seats. Zurab Girchi Japaridze, a leader of the Coalition for Change, told the Associated Press that the aim of the lawsuit is to prevent the opposition from challenging Georgian Dream in the 2028 elections; he warned that if the court sides with the ruling party, opposition leaders could end up in prison or exile, and hundreds of people from opposition lists could be barred from politics.
While the hearing was under way, opposition supporters gathered outside the court building: participants in the rally called the process unconstitutional and its outcome predetermined. The lawsuit itself is the third version: the Constitutional Court registered the first on 31 October 2025, when it concerned three parties; the second was filed by 89 MPs in April 2026, and in September 2026 the list grew to five forces. Gakharia accused the authorities of rushing: according to him, a Constitutional Court judge resigned after her request for recusal was rejected, and within hours the court scheduled the hearings.
What it means: The Constitutional Court is deciding whether Georgia's main opposition forces, including the only opposition party in parliament, will remain legal. The first three days of hearings are only the beginning: a final ruling could come at any time before the end of June 2027.
Who benefits: Georgian Dream presents the ban as protection of the constitutional order. The opposition believes the lawsuit is meant to remove it from the 2028 elections, and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association considers the aim to be to eliminate political competition and keep the ruling party in power. Civil.ge writes that the court is widely seen as loyal to the ruling party.
Background: On 8 October the European Parliament adopted a resolution on attempts to ban opposition parties in Georgia; some MEPs accused Georgian Dream of seeking to establish a one-party regime, while representatives of the ruling party called the European Parliament's resolutions interference in the country's internal affairs. According to JAMnews, the law also provides for a 14-day procedure for banning a successor party.
List of sources used: Civil.ge, Caucasian Knot, Georgia Today, JAMnews, AP / Arab News Pakistan, Militarist
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
