TBILISI, October 16. /TASS/. Salome Zourabichvili will continue to officially serve as Georgia’s president even after the Constitutional Court recognized she violated the Constitution, Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party, said at a briefing.
"No matter how the impeachment proceedings end, we have already done what we set out to do. Salome Zourabichvili’s violation of the Georgian Constitution was not ignored, which will have a long-term deterrent effect, ensuring the credibility of the government system. As for the president who has violated the Georgian Constitution, she is now regarded as the country’s president only on paper," Kobakhidze pointed out.
However, in his words, "there is almost no chance" that the required 100 lawmakers will vote to impeach the president because the opposition does not support the idea. Kobakhidze added that although Zourabichvili would retain her post, she would lose any real political power, serving as a mere figurehead in the last year of her term in office.
Earlier, Georgia’s Constitutional Court came to the conclusion that Zourabichvili had violated the Constitution by taking work trips to European countries without the government’s permission.
In early September, Zourabichvili visited Berlin, Brussels and Paris, holding several high-level meetings. It was revealed later that the Georgian government had not authorized her to do so. Consequently, the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party accused the president of violating the Constitution and launched an impeachment procedure. Zourabichvili will be impeached if 100 out of 150 lawmakers support the move. The ruling party has 84 seats in parliament.