Georgian lawmaker announces plan to impeach Saakashvili

PanARMENIAN.Net - A lawmaker from the majority coalition in the Georgian parliament, Gia Jorjoliani, said on Sunday, June 23 he plans to start the procedure of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s impeachment this week, RIA Novosti reported.

“I think the reasons for the parliament to start the president’s impeachment procedure are more than sufficient. As a member of parliament, I will start the required procedures on Wednesday. Hope that the majority of parliamentarians will support this initiative,” Jorjoliani said.

He said that although Saakashvili is certainly to lose the post in October, the impeachment was needed “for the society to gain full understanding of how ruinous the actions of this criminal regime were for the country.”

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream coalition swept the October 1, 2012, parliamentary elections in Georgia, rode to victory on an anti-Saakashvili platform and seemed to capitalize on public discontent with the president. During his tenure, a number of high-ranking officials from the Saakashvili government were probed for suspected corruption and abuse of office.

However, Ivanishvili said last year that he would not push for the president’s impeachment.