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Tsagareishvili: there is no place for 21-year-old children in Parliament

In an interview with Akhali Taoba, opposition MP Gia Tsagareishvili says that the government's decision to lower the age an individual can serve in Parliament to 21 was initiated by President Mikheil Saakashvili. “As soon as I heard this news, I immediately said that it would be good if they became members of Parliament from early childhood, I am sure this is very useful for Georgia,” he added.

"It seems that the National Movement targets this segment, aged 21-25 years. Today, a 25-year-old person can become a Member of Parliament. I personally do not think a 21-year-old girl or boy [should be] in Parliament. At this age, young people do not have enough experience to be an MP... Experience comes with years, as well as knowledge,” Tsagareishvili remarked. “Mr. President once said: ‘If I can I would involve 5- and 6-year-old children in politics,” the MP claimed.

“If young people want to participate they have lots of opportunities for it. There are more than 200 parties in this country. Many parties have a lot of young people. We, the Free Democrats, also have young people – 500-600 children. They even appeared in our city at the conference. They are brilliant young people. They are now studying. People, as a rule, take higher education at this age. They can't finish university at this age. In my opinion, people with too little education should not be allowed in Parliament," he said, citing some deputy ministers who lack university degrees.



Secret Armenian visit

On March 16 and 17, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edvard Nalbandyan made a secret visit to Tbilisi, Kviris Palitra reports. The media was not informed before the fact, and no statements were released from either the governments of Georgia or Armenia.

The media was informed about the visit only after Nalbandyan left Tbilisi. The Armenian minister planned his visit shortly after President Mikheil Saakashvili’s visit to Baku, as Nalbandyan was interested in information about the meeting of the Georgian and Azeri presidents, and the outcome of their negotiations.