Georgian PM: absurd that banning political party can be connected to democratic principles

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday assessed the fact that banning a political party could be connected to democratic principles as absurd.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze recalled the banning of 18 political parties in Ukraine as well as several others in Moldova, which did not prompt any such statements from anyone.

“We have seen the example of Ukraine, where 18 political parties were banned, in Moldova, a number of political parties were also banned. Yet, no one suggested that banning a political party could in any way be linked to the principles of democracy, nor could they have, in principle, because such an idea is absurd. However, the very same absurd claims that were not made regarding Ukraine or Moldova have been leveled against Georgia, which clearly indicates that this is driven by a blatant political motive”, the PM said.

He assessed this as double standards.

“The same applies to elections. As you know, in several countries in our region, elections were held marred by gross violations, Moldova, for instance, is a prime example, yet no substantive comments were made regarding those situations. Double standards are evident everywhere. We must uphold the rule of law, and the processes we have initiated are aimed at achieving exactly that”, Kobakhidze concluded.