Georgian Parliament split between Tbilisi and Kutaisi

Parliament will resume working in its previous building in Tbilisi once renovation work is completed.

This means Parliament will soon be split between Tbilisi and Kutaisi, Georgian Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili announced at a press conference today.

(See the history of the Tbilisi old Parliament building  and  what is going on inside during the renovation  "In pictures")

Today, Usupashvili said ten committee rooms would be renovated in the Tbilisi Parliament historical building so MPs will be able to work there too.

"Journalists will be able to get 90 percent of information they need from the Tbilisi building,” Usupashvili said, referring that some journalists used to find it difficult to travel 253km from Tbilisi to Kutaisi to get Parliament-related information.

Parliament was moved from the capital city to Kutaisi in Western Georgia in May, 2012, in an effort to decentralise power.

Changes to the Georgian Constitution, carried out by the Saakashvili-led Government, determined Kutaisi as the location of Parliament and this could only be changed temporarily in a state of emergency or at a time of war.

The current ruling majority have tried to remove this article from the Constitution for more than a year although a lack of votes meant this did not happen.

Meanwhile, some of the inventory has already been moved to Tbilisi from Kutaisi.