Ex-head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee may be Expelled from Ruling Party
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, January 15
A member of the Georgian Dream ruling party Giorgi Volski says that it is likely that the former head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Eka Beselia, who accused Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze of lobbying the list of “biased judges,” will be expelled from the ruling party.
“We will not be able to remain together in the team with such opinions, but the future will show how we will be separated or whether it will happen at all or not,” Vice-Speaker Volski said and added that he is skeptical, but there is a little chance that Beselia stays in the team.
Volski said that it is regrettable that Beselia was speculating about the issue of judicial candidates when speaking about her resignation.
Beselia resigned on 27 December 2018 and stated that her step was related with the list of judges which was presented by the High Council of Justice, an independent body responsible for the appointment of judges, for the Supreme Court of Georgia on 24 December.
Beselia said that the list included the judges who were linked with politically motivated cases and they must not have been approved by parliament as judges of the Supreme Court during their lifetime.
Kobakhidze and founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili have criticized Beselia for her statements and said that it was decided in the summer [and not in December as Beselia says] that Beselia would quit the post in the committee and become a vice-speaker of parliament.
“However, Beselia went against the team and her appointment as the vice-speaker is not on the agenda,” Ivanishvili said.
Beselia claims that she will “reveal important details” regarding the list of judges in the future.
The parliament postponed the discussions on the list of ten judges, which was also strongly criticized by the civil sector, until spring and vowed refined procedures for the selection of judges.
