Khazaradze Calls for United Opposition Action to Vacate Parliamentary Mandates and Reject Legitimacy of Georgian Dream-Led Parliament
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, November 15, 2024
Mamuka Khazaradze announced that the political council of Strong Georgia officially voted on November 14 to terminate its parliamentary candidate lists and vacate its mandates. According to Khazaradze, the decision was supported by the majority of the council.
"It is crucial that no political entity with a representative mandate grants legitimacy to the Georgian Dream parliament by accepting the mandates," he said. "All opposition entities are in agreement on this."
Khazaradze stated that in accordance with Article 120, Clause 2 of the Election Code, political parties can cancel candidate nominations after the newly elected parliament's authority is recognized. Additionally, he noted that according to Article 39, Clause 5, Sub-Clause "a" of the Georgian Constitution, members of parliament may formally terminate their mandate by submitting a personal resignation request after the first parliamentary session, when the newly elected members are recognized.
Khazaradze emphasized that it is vital for opposition forces to collectively and simultaneously undertake this procedural step, thereby vacating their mandates and preventing any misinterpretations or speculations.
"Accordingly, we propose that all forces who have received mandates as defined by law jointly, on the same day and at the same time, carry out this procedural action and collectively request the termination of the lists and the vacating of mandates to the relevant agencies, thereby ending interpretations and preventing speculation on this topic."
Previously, Unity - National Movement and Coalition for Change announced that their elected members would individually request the Central Election Commission to exclude them from registration as MPs and not to issue them temporary parliamentary certificates.
