Procedural Issues Committee Supports Termination of Mandates for Four MPs

By Khatia Bzhalava

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

According to the Chairman of the Procedural Issues Committee, Irakli Kadagishvili, both Shalva Natelashvili and Elene Khoshtaria missed all 15 sessions that were held during the autumn season for invalid reasons.

The decision of the committee over the termination of mandates will be discussed by the parliament at the plenary session scheduled for February 14-18.

The Procedural Issues and Rules Committee on Monday approved the termination of the parliamentary mandates for Droa Movement leader Elene Khoshtaria, Labour Party leader Shalva Natelashvili and Lelo leader Badri Japaridze. The decision of the committee will be discussed by the parliament at the plenary session scheduled for February 14-18.

According to the Procedural Issues Committee, the termination of MP status for Khoshtaria and Natelashvili was approved due to their absence on all the autumn sessions of the legislative body. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia, the powers of an MP could be terminated if he/she fails to attend more than half of the regular sittings during the season due to invalid reasons. As Irakli Kadagishvili, the chairman of the committee, explained, both Natelashvili and Khoshtaria missed all 15 sessions which were held during the autumn season for invalid reasons, which leads to the early termination of powers.

Natelashvili considers the decision unfair, citing that “for the first time in the history of world parliamentarism, the parliament terminates parliamentary powers for boycotting legislature due to fraud related to elections and seizure of power.” In this regard, opposition members of the committee have called on the ruling party to take into account the fact that there is a public statement proving that the leader of the Labor Party is considering joining the parliament.

As for Elene Khoshtaria, she requested the termination of the mandate herself. Khoshtaria obtained parliamentary mandate with her previous party European Georgia, hence, since she is no longer a member of the party she said that the mandate had not belonged to her, but to the party.

The termination of MP status for Lelo leader Japaridze is based on the norm of the Rules of Procedure of Georgia, according to which, the authority of a member of Parliament may be terminated if he has been convicted under a court judgment that has entered into legal force. Japaridze, a co-founder of TBC Bank, was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison by Tbilisi City Court on January 12, however, the sentence was waived due to the statute of limitations. According to Japaridze, he expected that the court decision would be interpreted in this way, claiming that all independent lawyers state there is no reason to terminate the mandate.

The Procedural Issues and Rules Committee also discussed the appeal of the former Speaker of the Parliament, Kakha Kuchava, MP of the Georgian Dream, regarding the termination of his mandate and decided that his mandate should be terminated before the end of the term.