Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction boycotts parliament
Members of the Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction have refused to attend parliament’s plenary sessions over former president Mikheil Saakashvili.
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The Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction, composed of seven opposition MPs, has boycotted parliament's plenary sessions until arrested former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is brought to a civil clinic to receive ‘proper medical care’ after a 33-day hunger strike.
A member of the faction, former leader of Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) party, Salome Samadashvili, says that Saakashvili’s health is ‘at serious risk, and the attitude of the Georgian Dream (GD) government towards the issue ‘is alarming.’
It will be an eternal black spot on Georgia if something fatal happens to Saakashvili, the former president who undertook genuine, democratic reforms for Georgia and ensured the country’s western future,” Samadashvili said.
Samadashvili has also called on the country’s international partners to react more strongly to the issue, as ‘Georgia is entering a severe political crisis.’
"At the moment, prisoner Saakashvili is continuing his treatment and his vital parameters are normal," the Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze told Imedi TV. pic.twitter.com/CiVMib13Kb
— Justice Ministry GEO (@Justice_geo) October 29, 2021
Unlike Lelo political party leader and member of the faction, Mamuka Khazaradze, other members of Lelo - Partnership for Georgia have no plans to leave their mandates in protest.
Despite the boycott, they will also vote on constitutional changes on electoral issues in the coming days, which were approved on first reading in early September.
Saakashvili urged opposition MPs yesterday to leave their mandates in protest, stating that the GD government fabricated the results of recent municipal elections.
Along with Khazaradze, UNM MPs Ana Tsitlidze, Nona Mamulashvili and Levan Varshalomidze, as well as a founder of Girchi - More Freedom party, Zurab Japaridze, have stated they will leave the state legislature to fight on the street for the annulment of municipal election results.
Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, a day before Georgian municipal elections.
Georgian Dream government officials say the opposition has plans to create tension at a civil clinic if Saakashvili is brought there.
Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili and ruling party MPs say that Saakashvili ‘is blackmailing his party members and staging a show by his hunger strike to cause tension in the country.’
They say that ‘all conditions have been ensured for Saakashvili’s comfort’ in prison, and that the clinic of Prison No.18 is equipped to ensure all services for the former president.
Both Saakashvili and the UNM expected that the GD would either lose or receive just a few votes in the municipal elections, and the opposition would therefore be able to demand snap parliamentary polls to ‘change the authorities via elections.’
However, the ruling party has won 63 of 64 mayoral constituencies, and received 43% of the vote in the proportional part of the race.
Former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has from prison urged opposition MPs to leave their mandates in protest, stating that the Georgian Dream (GD) government fabricated the results of recent municipal elections.
One of the leaders and a co-founder of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, says that he will demand the suspension of his MP status to ‘continue the fight on the street’ for the annulment of the recent municipal election results.
The official results of the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the 2021 municipal election run-offs in Georgia show that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party mayoral candidates have won in 19 municipalities, while the opposition United National Movement (UNM) contender has won in just one. Incumbent Tbilisi mayor and candidate Kakha Kaladze from the GD took 55.6% of the votes over the UNM’s Nika Melia, with 100% of the votes counted.
Overall six criminal charges are filed against recently arrested Georgian ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili who has been convicted to six years of imprisonment in two cases while four other criminal cases are still being heard in Tbilisi City Court.
MP from the United National Movement (UNM) Eka Kherkheulidze has said that the ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili asks the opposition MPs to refrain from renouncing their mandates before the election bill providing for a lower election threshold is approved. Saakashvili, who had previously urged the opposition to leave their MP seats, has seemingly changed his mind after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) head Irakli Kobakhidze noted that the ruling party has ‘no obligation’ to support the election bill for a lower threshold.
Lelo opposition party leader Mamuka Khazaradze has officially requested parliament earlier today to suspend his MP status to ‘continue the fight on the street’ for the annulment of the recent municipal election results.
The Georgian parliament has suspended the MP status of Lelo party founder Mamuka Khazaradze and leader of the Girchi-More Freedom opposition party Zurab Japaridze earlier today with 79 votes in the 150-member state legislature, per their request.
Founder of the Lelo opposition party Mamuka Khazaradze says that Georgia is ‘facing existential threats,’ from Russia and pro-Russian forces in Georgia, and states that a ‘powerful national platform’ should be created which will ensure the presence of the US military in Georgia, a rapid signing of a free trade agreement with the US, and the adoption of a lustration law to reveal spies of enemies in the public service.
Members of the opposition For Georgia and the United National Movement (UNM) parties claim that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party intends to adopt a municipal budget prior to the convening of new city councils (Sakrebulo), members of which were elected in October local self-government elections.
The leader of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, has said that he will move to the western Georgian town of Tsalenjikha, and assist the newly appointed opposition mayor. Khazaradze announced his decision while delivering his speech at the opposition rally in the city of Zugdidi last evening.