European Georgia refuses to enter parliament
The European Georgia opposition party held a meeting of its political council today. Photo: on,ge.
Tweet 
Share
The European Georgia opposition party has made a final decision earlier today and stated that the party will not enter the state legislature, while three of its five mandates have already been taken up.
David Bakradze, Shalva Shavgulidze and Armaz Akhvlediani, who previously represented the party, entered the parliament shortly after the ruling Georgian Dream and majority of opposition parties signed the EU-mediated agreement back in April..
Elene Khoshtaria, a former member of European Georgia, stated that she has no plans to take up her mandate.
She founded a new political force after the 2020 parliamentary elections.
Tariel Nakaidze will use the fourth mandate of the European Georgia opposition party. Photo: netgazeti.
The only member of the European Georgia opposition party who could enter the state legislature with the name of the party is Tariel Nakaidze.
Now it is up to Nakaidze to decide whether to enter parliament and leave the party or to stay in the party and leave parliament,” said the European Georgia leadership.
Later Nakaidze stated that he will take up his parliamentary mandate.
In total eight opposition parties have won seats in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament.
European Georgia, United National Movement and the Labour Party have not entered the state legislature so far.
The United National Movement, which received more than half, 34 of 60 seats in the 150-member parliament, is likely to announce its final decision in the coming days.
Head of the United National Movement (UNM) Nika Melia, who was released from pretrial custody on May 10, met with the UNM party founder and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili in Kyiv yesterday.
Tbilisi City Court has accepted the release of the head of the United National Movement Nika Melia after the European Union posted Melia’s 40,000 GEL bail on May 8, following the EU-mediated agreement between Georgian political parties in April. After the completion of technical issues Melia will leave Rustavi prison where he has been in pretrial custody since February 23, 2021.
The United States welcomes the agreement reached by the government of Georgia and several opposition parties on April 19, under the mediation of European Union President Charles Michel, to bring an end to Georgia’s political crisis, announces the US Embassy to Georgia.
The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) has counted all votes cast in Saturday’s parliamentary elections. Nine parties have crossed the one per cent threshold to make it into the 150-member parliament per the proportional electoral system (120 seats in the legislative body). In the majoritarian elections the ruling Georgian Dream candidates has won 14 of 30 majoritarian constituences. A run-off will be held in 16 majoritarian constituencies on November 21, where the ruling Georgian Dream candidates won the race in 15 (of 16) constituencies, however, they were unable to receive at least 51% of total votes.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava is paying his first official visit to Brussels in the role.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has stated earlier today that ‘it is likely Georgian political parties have built a large consensus on the election bill, in line with the EU-mediated agreement signed by the majority of the parties back in April.'
The Lelo opposition party has submitted a bill requesting the state legislature declare a moratorium on the election of new judges for the country’s Supreme Court and new members in the High Council of Justice before the implementation of the EU-mediated agreement.
Opposition MPs from Lelo, Strategy Agmashenebli, Khatuna Samnidze from Republican Party, independent MP David Bakradzea and MP Zurab Japaridze from Girchi-More Freedom have demanded the postponement of elections for four new members of Georgia’s High Council of Justice.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition were unable to come to an agreement on an amnesty bill for June 2019 protests, according to the EU-mediated agreement signed by both parties back in April 2021.
MEP Marina Kaljurand has once again urged Georgian opposition MPs to take up their parliamentary mandates in line with the EU-mediated agreement.
The UNM announced it would be taking up its mandates in parliament late yesterday, after a six-month political standoff, saying that the reason they declined to sign the EU-mediated agreement is that ‘it includes several notes which are unacceptable for us.’ The embassies said in a joint statement that the agreement proposed by the European Council President Charles Michel back in April 2021, which was signed by six Georgian political parties and individual MPs, contains topics which are crucial for the country’s further democratic development.
Members of PACE Monitoring Committee Titus Corlatean, Clause Kern and Bas Klein have arrived in Georgia on a two-day visit to discuss election-related issues and planned reforms in the electoral and justice fields.