Georgia’s current President will deprive ex-President of his Georgian citizenship
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, November 16
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelahsvili will deprive Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship, as the latter has received Ukrainian citizenship.
A statement concerning the issue has been made by the President’s Parliamentary Secretary Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, who explained that the Georgian constitution prohibited one to be a dual citizen except in extraordinary circumstances.
“Based on the Georgian Constitution, if a Georgian citizen is granted the citizenship of any other country he is automatically revoked of his Georgian citizenship.
“In this situation, as Saakashvili received a citizenship of Ukraine, the President will act as he would act in any other situation of this kind, and the former President will lose his Georgian citizenship,” Kverenchkhiladze said.
Based on Georgian legislation, only the President can grant dual citizenship to a person if he lost the country’s citizenship because of the Constitutional norm.
However, in this situation the individual should address the President and provide relevant documentation, and then the President will decide whether to grant him/her dual citizenship or not.
On the same note, on October 30 this year, Georgia’s Ministry of Justice also stated that it started procedures to revoke Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship with the same Constitutional background.
The Ministry has already sent the relevant documentation to Ukraine, where Saakashvili now serves as the Govenor of Odessa.
Saakashvili left Georgia when his presidential term expired in 2013. He moved to Ukraine and decided to continue his political career there.
On May 30, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko appointed Saakashvili as the Governor of the Odessa in southwestern Ukraine. One day earlier, Ukrainian media reported Poroshenko had granted Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship on May 29.
The ex-President is wanted by Georgia's law-enforcement bodies on several charges.
