**Georgian Parliament Approves Changes to Laws Aimed at Banning Opposition Parties**
In a move that has been widely criticized as an attempt to suppress dissent ahead of local elections, the Georgian Dream (GD) parliamentary majority leader, Mamuka Mdinaradze, has pushed through a legislative package amending the Organic Law on Political Associations and the Law on the Constitutional Court.
On May 13, the GD Parliament adopted the changes in their final reading. The revised laws aim to empower the Constitutional Court to ban opposition groups whose leadership, objectives, or activities are identical to those of the previously banned United National Movement (UNM) party.
The amended law on Political Associations now allows the Court to prohibit a political group “whose aim is to overthrow or change Georgia’s constitutional order by force, undermine the country’s independence, violate its territorial integrity, engage in war or violence propaganda, incite national, regional, religious, or social strife.”
**Critics Condemn Changes as Politically Motivated**
Critics have condemned the amendments as politically motivated and aimed at stifling dissent ahead of the local elections. The Social Justice Center has argued that the changes broaden the grounds for banning political parties, which contradicts the constitution.
“The received changes introduce vague grounds for banning political parties that disregard the constitution,” the center said in a statement. “This is doubly problematic in conditions where the final decision on banning a party is made by the Constitutional Court, which has long been serving in favor of the regime and ‘against the spirit of the constitution.'”
**GD Seeks to Ban Opposition Parties**
Mamuka Mdinaradze has accused opposition parties of acting against the Georgian state, calling them “anti-Georgian, anti-constitutional, anti-national, and criminal.” He has argued that parties with “similar” leadership, objectives, or activities to the UNM should be barred from participating in political life.
“We are ready for the Georgian people to give a deserved answer to the agents’ network parties in this year’s local elections and to win gloriously,” Mdinaradze said on April 14. “Then [we will] prepare a very solid and fact-based constitutional case, which in turn should become the basis for the Constitutional Court to ban the collective United National Movement.”
**Local Elections Loom**
The local elections are scheduled for October 4, and critics fear that these changes will be used to suppress opposition voices. The Social Justice Center has called on citizens to remain vigilant and to defend their democratic rights.
As the country prepares for the elections, it remains to be seen whether the GD government will succeed in its bid to ban opposition parties and silence dissenting voices.
