Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Boud (talk | contribs) at 10:36, 29 December 2024 (start). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The 2024 Georgian constitutional crisis started with a dispute about the legitimacy of the October 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, due to concerns about its conduct, followed by the self-convening of Parliament, the election of a new president by Parliament, and the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili by the self-convened session of parliament.

2024 October parliamentary election

Salome Zourabichvili and the four main opposition groups considered the 2024 Georgian parliamentary election to be legally invalid because of irregularities in the conduct of the election. Mass street protests took place daily following the election, together with police repression. On 18 December, the Public Defender of Georgia stated that his representatives had visited 327 detainees, among which 225 stated that they had been ill-treated, and 157 had visible signs of physical injuries. Representatives from Transparency International Georgia, Georgian European Orbit and Rule of Law Center stated that Georgian Dream had "planned the systemic torture of peaceful demonstrators", with a "system of torture in advance". They stated that detainees had been "beaten in the face, head, eye sockets, ribs, kidneys" and that the detainees had been robbed of personal belongings by the security forces.

In late December 2024, Zourabichvili announced plans to create a council with broad participation to organise a re-run of the election, as recommended by the European Parliament.

Self-convening of Parliament

Following the October election, Zourabichvili refused to convene a session of the Parliament of Georgia with the members elected per the official results of the election. Parliament self-convened. Zourabichvili considered the self-convening of Parliament to have been unconstitutional.

Presidential election

Parliament elected a new president of Georgia on 14 December 2024. Zourabichvili considered the election to be invalid. She stated that she would retain her status as President because of the invalidity of the election.

On 29 December 2024, Mikheil Kavelashvili was inaugurated as President. Zourabichvili left the presidential palace, stating that she remained the legitimate President, as the palace is only a symbol.

Constitutional legitimacy

On 28 November 2024, the European Parliament, by a majority of 444 in favour, 72 against, and 82 abstentions, declared that it did not recognise the October parliamentary election.

In December 2024, constitutional law expert Vakhtang Khmaladze considered Zourabichvili to be the legitimate president.

References

1. "Key Stages In Crisis Threatening Georgia's EU Bid". Barron's. 20 December 2024. ISSN 1077-8039. Wikidata Q131582774. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024.
2. Thomas de Waal (31 October 2024), Georgia's Dangerous Moment Is a Challenge for the EU, Wikidata Q131582878, archived from the original on 29 December 2024
3. ^ Georgia – Parliamentary elections – 26 October 2024 – ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report (PDF), Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 20 December 2024, Wikidata Q131531638, archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2024
4. ^ "President: Parliament Meeting Unconstitutional". Civil Georgia. 25 November 2024. Wikidata Q131573888. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024.
5. ^ "'I Remain President,' Says Zurabishvili Urging Firmer Western Stance". Civil Georgia. 27 December 2024. Wikidata Q131573576. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024.
6. ^ "Zourabichvili to leave Orbeliani Palace". OC Media. 29 December 2024. Wikidata Q131582642. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024.
7. Pjotr Sauer (27 October 2024). "Georgia's pro-EU opposition calls for protest over 'rigged' election result". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Wikidata Q131554944. Archived from the original on 28 October 2024.
8. "NGOs on pro-European rallies: Along with the beatings, the special forces robbed the detainees". Georgia Today. 18 December 2024. Wikidata Q131477264. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024.
9. "Zourabichvili: the 'regime is [already] collapsing on its own'". OC Media. 23 December 2024. Wikidata Q131546301. Archived from the original on 23 December 2024.
10. "President Discusses with Opposition, CSOs Joint Vision for New Elections". Civil Georgia. 25 December 2024. Wikidata Q131552311. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024.
11. ^ Resolution on Georgia's worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud, 28 November 2024, Wikidata Q131560463, archived from the original on 26 December 2024
12. ^ "Mikheil Kavelashvili, ex-Man City Striker and Georgia's Disputed Far-Right President". Kyiv Post. 29 December 2024. ISSN 1563-6429. Wikidata Q131582646. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024.

• Constitutional crises
• Georgian constitutional crisis