Opposition United National Movement joins its first Parliament session after six-month boycott

One of Georgia’s largest opposition parties, the United National Movement joined the Parliament session today after a six-month boycott. The party MPs did not, however, join the plenary session of the 10th Convocation of the Georgian Parliament, as they have only arrived during the break. Besides, upon their arrival, the party members learned that the discussion of the controversial amnesty bill had been postponed:

“If they postpone it tomorrow, I will come again the day after, and if it is postponed again, I will come again the next day,” said the leader of the United National Movement party Nika Melia.

On May 30, the United National Movement announced its decision to enter the Parliament after the six-month stand-off but refused to sign the EU-brokered agreement of April 19.

Members of the UNM have stated, on numerous occasions, that the reason why the party refuses to sign the agreement proposed by the President of the European Council Charles Michel is because of the amnesty that it extended upon the party’s leader Nika Melia, stating that amnesty implies the responsibility to be laid on Nika Melia, while he was just a political prisoner.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has commented on the UNM’s decision to enter the Parliament as follows:

“Radical United National Movement, having effectively admitted defeat of their destructive political agenda, takes up seats in Georgian Parliament. UNM, however, refuses to sign the EU-mediated political agreement, which is the basis for consensus for ending the political crisis.”

The boycott of the seats in Parliament by the country’s opposition has begun shortly after the October 2020 Parliamentary Elections, which the opposition believed to be rigged. The crisis ended with the signing of the EU-mediated agreement between the government authorities and members of the opposition on April 19.