Georgian parliament elects new speaker
Kakha Kuchava has been elected the new chair of the Georgian parliament with 86 votes in the 150-member parliament. Photo: parliament of Georgia.
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Georgian parliament has elected Kakha Kuchava, 42, as the new speaker of the state legislature, replacing Archil Talakvadze in the post.
86 MPs voted for Kuchava in the 150-member parliament, including opposition legislators from Citizens and European Socialists.
Kuchava holds a MA degree in Corporate Law from Nottingham Trent University.
He stated that ‘it is symbolic that my election coincided with several opposition MPs’ returning today, in line with the EU-mediated agreement between the opposition and the ruling Georgian Dream party signed on April 19.
Kuchava said that the political tension in Georgia which began after the 2020 parliamentary elections was ‘artificially created’ (by the opposition).
I am sure today we are all winners. Standing at the tribune of the parliament speaker is a huge responsibility,” Kuchava said.
Archil Talakvadze has served as the parliament speaker of Georgia since June 2019, in the 9th and the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament. Photo: Archil Talakvadze's press office.
He expressed hope that the MPs from the United National Movement opposition, European Georgia and Labour party will also enter parliament.
Kuchava promised that as the parliament speaker he will do his utmost to further strengthen the parliament’s oversight function and will ensure the ‘fair distribution of power between different political forces in parliament,’ according to the EU-mediated agreement.
The EU-mediated agreement says that opposition MPs shall be assigned five committee chairmanships, two of which shall be among the following five committees: Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, Committee on Legal Issues, Human Rights Committee, Budget and Finance Committee and Foreign Relations Committee.
Opposition MPs shall be assigned the position of one chairmanship among the following parliament delegations to international fora: Euronest PA, EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE PA. Other positions shall be assigned in the future using a more inclusive formula such as the D’Hondt rule. The parties shall seek to establish a Jean Monnet Dialogue with the European Parliament,” said the agreement.
Talakvadze resigned on April 24, saying that after reaching an agreement between Georgian political parties he prefered to quit the post and act as an ordinary MP.