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Council of Europe Chief Urges Georgian Dream to Protect Opposition Parties
Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset has urged Georgia's ruling majority to uphold political pluralism and protect the role of opposition parties, ahead of the Constitutional Court hearings on Georgian Dream's lawsuit seeking to ban five opposition parties.
In a statement published on LinkedIn on October 20, Berset said political pluralism is essential to democracy and central to Georgia's commitments as a Council of Europe member. He stressed that dissolving a political party requires particularly compelling justification under European Court of Human Rights standards.
Berset also warned that growing restrictions on civil society, independent media and peaceful assembly risk undermining the checks and balances necessary for democratic governance.
He said the ruling majority has a particular responsibility to safeguard political competition and respect the legitimate role of opposition parties, both inside and outside Parliament.
The Council of Europe will closely follow developments and continue dialogue with Georgia to ensure the country upholds its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, Berset said.
For Georgia Asks Court to Hear Its Case Separately
The opposition party For Georgia has asked the Constitutional Court to examine its case separately from proceedings seeking to ban four other opposition parties, executive secretary Berdia Sichinava announced on October 20.
Sichinava criticized Georgian Dream's decision to include the party in the lawsuit, accusing the ruling party of trying to suppress political dissent. He also linked the case to alleged threats against party founder and former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
"As you can see, this was not enough to politically neutralize Giorgi Gakharia, and the implementation of that threat is now continuing through efforts to ban our political party," Sichinava said.
For Georgia was added to the lawsuit in September 2026, becoming the fifth party targeted. The Constitutional Court hearings are scheduled for October 21-23 in Batumi. The party says it will participate in the proceedings and document the process.
