Opposition parties officially demand annulment of their parliamentary mandates
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, December 17
Georgian opposition parties have officially refused to take up their mandates in Parliament. Yesterday, MPs of opposition bloc United National Movement- Power is in Unity, which combines 36 representatives of the United National Movement party (UNM) and the Republican Party, asked the Parliament of Georgia to terminate their parliamentary mandates. On Tuesday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) annulled party lists of five opposition parties at their request, including the United National Movement-United opposition election bloc, European Georgia, Lelo, Strategy Agmashenebeli, and the Labour party.
Opposition parties maintain that the elections were rigged by the ruling party and are dedicated to fighting until their demands are met and the government holds elections again.
Paata Manjgaladze, a member of party Strategy Aghmashenebeli stated that the Georgian Dream did not leave room in parliament for making politics and the parties were forced to make such a decision.
“In the reality that Georgian Dream created, we simply had no other choice. Of course, we will keep fighting. We did not fight for the mandates, we fought for the idea of a better Georgia,” stated Manjgaladze.
UNM member Levan Bezhanishvili stated that their request on the annulment of the mandates is not a form of whim or blackmail for political purposes.
“This is the opinion of our citizens. Georgian citizens were deprived of the right to vote. They demand from the opposition parties, which received the support of the majority of voters, to not enter rigged and one-party parliament of Bidzina Ivanishvili,” Bezanashvili stated. According to him, Grigol Vashadze’s request for the termination of his parliamentary mandate has also been submitted. Vashadze left the National Movement as he did not agree with the tactics chosen by the majority of the party leadership without consultations with other members.
On December 11th, the 10th convocation of the Parliament of Georgia held its session without the attendance of any opposition parties that were voted into the Parliament. Speaker of Parliament Archil Talakvadze called on healthy forces in the opposition to participate in the parliamentary process. He suggested opposition parties agree through dialogues not on categorical demands (such as holding repeat elections), “but on what the country needs today.”
So far, applications on termination of mandates have not been filed by Alliance of Patriots, Girchi, and Aleko Elisashvili’s party Citizens.
