Georgian Parliament refuses to annul 51 mandates of opposition MPs

On February 2, the Parliamentary majority refused to satisfy the request of 51 opposition MPs, who wished to have their seats annulled in defiance to the October 2020 Parliamentary Elections. The vote was held at the first spring session of the 10th convocation of Georgian Parliament, said the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze.

The 10th convocation that consists of 90 out of 150 MPs unanimously refused to vote for the annulment of the opposition seats. The ruling Georgian Dream party stated that at this moment they will not support the decision of the opposition MPs. Chairman of the Georgian Dream also announced that 20 members of the opposition parties have already expressed their intention to claim their seats. He said that the only reason why those MPs have not yet come forward to join the Parliament is the bullying and blackmailing that they are faced with from within the country’s opposition bloc, however, by refusing to vote in favor of the suspension of mandates, the Georgian Dream is offering them a chance to do so.

Kobakhidze also cited the assessment of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in which the opposition’s decision to boycott the seats in Parliament was referred to as an action undermining the country’s democracy. According to Kobakhidze, the ruling party has taken the view of the international partners into consideration, which is why the Parliament decided to refuse the suspension of the seats.

One of the members of the United National Movement, Salome Samadashvili accused Kobakhidze of lying about the 20 MPs wishing to enter the Parliament and claimed that the Parliament’s final vote is merely an attempt of the ruling party to escape responsibility for the ongoing political crisis. Similarly, another UNM member Roman Gotsiridze stated that the refusal to suspend the seats derived from the fear of the reaction from the country’s international partners. He added that the political crisis in the country can only be resolved if the ruling party allows snap elections.

Head of the Strategy Agmashenebeli party and a former member of the United National Movement Giorgi Vashadze said that the ruling party will now have to make an offer to the opposition bloc.

As of now, the 10th convocation of the Georgian Parliament is mostly made up of the MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream party; the ongoing crisis is yet to be resolved.