Ruling party proposes Constitutional Court power to ban political parties

The ruling Georgian Dream party has introduced legislative amendments that would grant the Constitutional Court the authority to ban political parties deemed identical to those it has already declared unconstitutional.

According to the proposed changes to the Law on Political Associations of Citizens, the court could prohibit a party whose “declared goals or core activities (including its personnel or candidate lists submitted to the electoral commission) essentially replicate those of a party previously banned by the Constitutional Court.”

The explanatory note attached to the bill argues that “the right to form and operate a political party is not absolute,” and that “the state is authorized to restrict these fundamental rights if their exercise threatens national security and democratic interests.”

These amendments come as Georgian Dream moves to declare the United National Movement (UNM) and other opposition parties it considers UNM’s political successors unconstitutional. If the ruling party follows through with this plan, the proposed changes would prevent individuals from forming new parties that resemble the banned ones.

The bill states that the Constitutional Court would be empowered to enforce constitutional oversight on parties that “seek to overthrow the constitutional order of Georgia, change the government through violence, undermine the country’s independence, violate territorial integrity, or promote war, violence, or social and ethnic hatred.”

“Accordingly, individuals who intend to establish parties that are essentially similar to those previously banned and continue unconstitutional activities would be legally prohibited from using such ‘fictional’ parties to operate,” the explanatory note adds.