All opposition parties sign agreement not to take up mandates in parliament
The opposition intends to take to the streets and demand repeat elections. Photo:RFE/RL.
Tweet 
Share
All eight opposition parties who crossed the one per cent election threshold in the October 31 parliament elections have signed an agreement earlier today not to take up their mandates in parliament.
12 other opposition parties, who were unable to enter the legislative body, also signed the agreement and stated that the elections ‘were not legitimate as they were fabricated.’
All 20 signatory parties have stated that they will continue to fight against the government.
We will demand repeat elections and changes in the composition of the Central Election Commission as the commission helped the government to fabricate the elections,” said the parties.
The CEC says that there is ‘a deliberate campaign to harm their image’ and has responded to several allegations.
- US Embassy welcomes ‘competitive’ Georgian elections, laments ‘deficiencies’
- MEPs of the EU parliament: 'elections were competitive, freedoms were respected'
- Int'l reactions to Georgian parliamentary elections in tweets
- Lithuanian MFA welcomes ‘important step’ of Georgian elections
The Georgian Dream government says that the elections have international recognition and has urged the opposition parties to accept the election results in a dignified manner.
MPs of the Lelo and Alliance of Patriots opposition parties have refused to take up their mandates in parliament.
The European Georgia opposition party, which has received five mandates in the 150-member parliament, has refused to have its MPs take up their mandates in parliament and participate in the election run-off on November 21 in several majoritarian constituencies.
Georgia's foreign minister David Zalkaliani expressed gratitude to the country's international partners for sending their observers for the parliamentary elections held on Saturday and pointed out their support for "further consolidation of democracy in Georgia".
The United States Embassy in Georgia has welcomed the recent "competitive" parliamentary elections in the country and applauded citizens for their turnout against the backdrop of the pandemic, while also pointing out "deficiencies" in the process that require resolution by the authorities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland has released a statement on the parliamentary elections held in Georgia on October 31, which reads that 'we share the assessments of international organisations' that the elections were competitive and fundamental freedoms, international standards were respected, but the statement also draws attention to 'worrying reports on irregularities and violations'.
Tbilisi City Court has set bail at 70,000 GEL for United National Movement MP Nika Melia. He has also been prohibited from leaving Georgia without informing the prosecution in advance and receiving its consent.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili spoke about the recent parliamentary elections with the Central Election Commission (CEC) chairperson Tamar Zhvania earlier today. President Zurabishvili thanked Zhvania and her team for holding 'free, fair and just' elections amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Former President of Georgia, Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili, has urged people to join the opposition rally on November 8 in Tbilisi despite the recent surge in coronavirus cases.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week, has stated that the country needs to broaden the scale of local coronavirus restrictions to make the measure more effective amid election-related street protests.Gakharia said earlier today in an online conference that the opposition demonstrations are expected to cause a sharp increase in new cases of coronavirus.
Member of opposition party European Georgia Irma Nadirashvili states that the founder and the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili is ‘more dangerous for Georgia than Covid-19,’ responding to the statement of Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia that opposition rallies will cause a sharp increase in coronavirus cases.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) reports that 11 district election commissions (DECs) have corrected results from the October 31 parliamentary elections, annulled data of three portable ballot boxes and corrected results in nine cases.
In a joint statement Transparency International Georgia (TI), the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) say that although Georgia’s parliamentary elections were a clear setback for the country and the worst elections held under the Georgian Dream government, they believe that there is still a chance to find a way out of the political impasse through dialogue.
Tbilisi City Court has sent Akaki Khuskivadze and Akaki Kobaladze to pre-trial detention for bribing and coercing the late head of Isani No.5 district Election Commission Tevdore Gobejishvili.
Ambassador of Norway to the OSCE Anne-Kirsti Karlsen said at the Permanent Council in Vienna on November 27 that Norway 'commends Georgia’s efforts to organise elections in a transparent way during a challenging pandemic situation'.