Aleko Elisashvili, Ana Dolidze and Levan Koberidze create a new platform
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, June 19
Representatives of the civil movement Aleko Elisashvili and Levan Ioseliani, a non-judicial member of the Council of Justice and one of the founders of the Movement for the People, Ana Dolidze and independent MP Levan Koberidze formed the ‘New Platform’ and confirmed their commitment by the Memorandum of Understanding.
According to the memorandum, the New Platform is a union that gives new opportunities to the people and the country in a polarized environment between the two opposing political forces:
As Dolidze said in her speech, clean, country-minded party members should unite with others and mobilize forces to create a new agenda.
“Our task is to create a different platform for discussion, which will become a new healthy alternative to today's polarized atmosphere, and will bring together patriotic, conscientious and caring citizens of similar values around us,” said Dolidze, adding that they believe in the possibility of creating a new agenda by uniting their efforts that will serve as a base for building successful and free Georgia.
According to Elisashvili, the leader of the Civil Movement, it is not ruled out that New Platform will form into a serious ‘political statement.’ He said that the registration of the political party has been started by the leaders of the Civil Movement. “However, we will see what it will look like and what form it will take in general, and we do not rule out that our stand here will turn into a political team,” Elisashvili explained.
He said that at this stage, the political force closest to the views of the New Platform is Lelo and consultations are underway with it.
Note that this week the civil sector called on Dolidze to resign if she intends to engage in politics.
7 non-governmental organizations consider that the status of a non-judicial member of the High Council of Justice is incompatible with the implementation of political goals. The statement of the civil sector is related to the activities of Dolidze's civil organization For the People.
After the Georgian Dream came to power, the signatory organizations actively supported the issue of depoliticizing the High Council of Justice. To this end, the 2013 legislative amendment removed members of parliament from the High Council of Justice, replacing them with academics and professionals who were barred from membership in political unions and political activities. “The implementation of such activities is a precondition for the termination of the authority of a member of the High Council of Justice. The purpose of the law is to protect and maintain the political neutrality of the judiciary,” the statement said.
NGOs say, since Dolidze’s appointment as a member of the High Council of Justice, she has been actively involved in identifying problems in the judiciary, finding ways to solve them and informing the public. They also underlined the special importance of the work she has done during the composition of the Supreme Court and the legal framework to improve the selection process.
At the same time, none of the state agencies has the authority to remove Dolidze from the post of the High Council of Justice.
Nazi Janezashvili, another a non-judicial member of the High Council of Justice, demanded that her colleague, Dolidze, explains who is funding her organization and why? Janezashvili wrote on the social network Facebook that if Dolidze resigns today, she has already violated the law. In the post, she made an extensive explanation of the conflict of interest and listed 3 main limitations, which, in her estimation, does not allow Dolidze to carry out political activities.
She also responded to the new political platform: “After that, are there still questions about Dolidze's political activities? I repeat, the law prohibits non-judicial members of the High Council of Justice from engaging in political activities! When you criticize others for lack of transparency, publicity, honesty, you should have a moral right to do so and you should not be a violator of the law,” Janezashvili wrote.
Dolidze founded the civil movement ‘For the People’ on May 21. She said the aim of the movement was to create a new political reality with ‘clean hands’. On the same day, she posted a ‘manifesto for the people’ on her official Facebook page and later spoke to the media about the organization's visions and future plans.
Dolidze later responded to calls from seven NGOs, saying she would decide to step down when she decides on political activities.
“As long as I am a member of the Council of Justice and carry out public activities, I think my vote in this council is very important for the country and as I have been talking for several weeks, as soon as I decide to engage in political activity I will make this decision,” she said.
