The Parliament declined the Removal from Office by means of Impeachment of the President of Georgia; as a result of the ballot, the issue was declined with 86 votes for and 1 against.

“We assume that violation of the Constitution is grave, gross and repeated; it is a betrayal of the Constitution, betrayal of an owe given on the Constitution, which could not be left non-responded”, - the Majority Leader, Irakli Kobakhidze stated upon the consideration of the impeachment of the President.

According to him, the impeachment procedure is an integral part of the democratic process, however, the radical opposition is irritated even by this aspect.

“As for our responsibility – today, we act with the responsibility that is assumed under the Constitution of Georgia, the primary law of the country. Our responsibility implied and still implies our duty to ensure due response to every gross violation of the Constitution and the impeachment procedure is an expression of this very responsibility”, - he noted.

Georgian society, as he added, has been hearing the arguments in the Constitutional Court about the reasons for the gross breach of the Constitution by the President.

“It is no longer our business. Now, it is up to the Constitutional Court to verify the facts. As for the Parliament, it makes political decisions according to verified legal facts. It was the simplest legal case and I want to remind you of the fabula and the circumstance of this case. Article 52 of the Constitution stipulates the obligation of the President to inquire for the approval of the Government to serve a visit. Mme. Zourabichvili was well informed about this provision and she has been regularly appealing for approval. In this case, when she was leaving for Germany, she asked for approval, though the approval was not issued; however, despite the refusal, she still served the visits to Germany, also France and Brussels, by which, she violated the Constitution”, - he noted.

As I. Kobakhidze underlined, these three visits have not been funded from the state budget and if they were Constitutional and legitimate, then why President did not resort to the state budget?

“She counted on the National Movement in the Parliament hoping for their support. Thus, she was provided with guarantees, though the National Movement is not represented in the Prosecutor’s Office. By consuming the budget funds, she would commit a criminal offense. Let me remind you of the statement made in Lithuania that she was not formally empowered to serve a working visit. Prior to the consideration in the Constitutional Court, she issued the address in two languages to the King of Belgium noting that she was not capable of visiting Belgium due to the non-approval of the Government. There are three simple proofs that the President has up to the last days realized the non-Constitutional nature of her working visits”.

According to him, the violation of the Constitution by the President was the gravest offense deriving that she strictly contradicted the Constitutional order.

“Moreover, Salome Zourabichvili tried to change the de-facto Constitutional order in the country with her attempts to roughly interfere with the exclusive competence of the Government of realizing the domestic and foreign policy. It is a gross violation of the Constitutional order. Hence, unequivocally, it is an offense that shall be subject to dismissal. As for the political side, by that, the President opposed the EU integration interest of Georgia. Let me also remind you that the exclusive responsibility for the realization of a foreign policy and the EU integration is imposed on the Government of Georgia and it is its prerogative to entrust or not the respective tasks to the President. The Government lacked trust in the President upon the serving of the respective visits. We assume that violation of the Constitution is grave, gross and repeated; besides, the President announced her intention to keep grossly violating the Constitution, which is a betrayal of the Constitution, a betrayal of an owe given on the Constitution, which could not be left non-responded”.

The President of Georgia, Mme. Salome Zourabichvili, with the status of a co-reporter, addressed the Parliament and estimated the impeachment process and the Order of the Constitutional Court.

“And this day has come, Georgia is a witness of it. For the first time in the history of Georgia, the President undergoes the impeachment procedure and it is the fact that you are bragging of, while, the Order of the Constitutional Court of October 16 will become part of the history not as a victory of a rule of law but as an enhancement of a single-party rule over the judicial system. I am not here to prove something or convince someone of a true fact – I have violated neither the essence nor the aspiration of the Constitution. You, to fortify your accusations, should submit the pieces of evidence but you had none! Georgian society is well aware of your intentions, also of my attempts within this very limited framework to upbring the respect and trust of our country and our cooperation with the European partners to a higher stage. You cannot harm me with this process, it is not my fate that is being solved here but yours. It is not the impeachment against me but against yourselves, against the country and its European future! And your every vote is given against our future. Always remember that today you assume this responsibility personally and collectively”, - she stated.

According to her, she has the only task in her schedule today – to obtain the EU candidate status for Georgia.

“And standing at this podium and in this very complicated time, I address our European partners and call on them despite this anti-European impeachment, not to neglect Georgia inasmuch as Russia shall be deprived of every opportunity to intensify its influence in this region by using the soft power and indirect occupation or by destabilization in the Black Sea region when Russia is defeated in Ukraine and finds ways to save its image. I address our partners as a President of this country as I represent this people and their historical choice and hold the absolute legitimation and authority to, together with the people and on their behalf, appeal for the EU candidacy. I believe that upon making the decision on the status, our partners will take into consideration the numerously affirmed aspiration of the Georgian people and the common geopolitical challenges of Georgia and Europe”, - the President noted.

After her address, the floor was given to the political groups and the Factions.

After the statements, the issue has been put to voting.