Opposition MP rejects leaving Parliamentary mandates in protest over Saakashvili

Roman Gotsiridze, a MP for the opposition United National Movement party, on Friday said it would “not be right” for party members to leave their Parliamentary mandates in protest over the latest developments around the health and sentence of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

In his remarks over the matter, Gotsiridze noted MPs abandoning their mandates would be wrong, “not least” from the point of view of ensuring “international support” in their standoff with the Government over the issue.

All methods will be used that will save Mikheil Saakashvili, starting from hunger strikes and ending with street demonstrations. As for leaving Parliamentary mandates, while it is one of the constituent parts of this struggle, my personal opinion is that it would not be right, not least from the point of view of gaining international support”, the opposition MP said.

“The same resolutions that were adopted in the European Parliament and elsewhere [with mentions of Saakashvili’s case] are also the result of Parliamentary work. As long as there is leverage that can be used, it would not be right to abandon it”, he concluded.

Gotsiridze’s comments follow a statement by Levan Khabeishvili, one of the leaders of UNM, who earlier said the Parliamentary faction of the party was “ready to abandon” the mandates. 

Saakashvili’s lawyers and a part of the domestic opposition have demanded his release, or postponement to the remainder of his sentence, for allowing the former official’s transfer abroad for medical treatment - a move they have argued as necessary.

Four members of UNM - Davit Kirkitadze, Ana Tsitlidze, Temur Janashia and Abdula Ismailov - on Thursday started a hunger strike in the Parliament, saying their protest would continue until Saakashvili was granted a transfer to another country for treatment.

The claim has been rejected by Georgian authorities, who have stressed Saakashvili is provided with adequate treatment in the country. A court hearing for a decision over the matter is scheduled for next week.

The former President has been receiving treatment at the Vivamedi clinic since May 12, after he was moved from the Gori Military Hospital - where he was transferred in late November 2021 from the hospital of the Gldani No.18 prison. The latter, in turn, served as his detention location after his move from the Rustavi No.12 prison, the initial detention venue, in early November last year.

The third President, currently a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections. He has been serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.