Four members of pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots opposition leave party, enter parliament
Former members of the Alliance of Patriots have announced the creation of a new political party. Photo: RFE/RL.
Tweet 
Share
Four members of the pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots opposition party, who were on the party’s election list for the October 31, 2020 parliamentary elections, have left the party earlier today and entered the parliament amid the opposition’s boycott.
Already former members of Alliance of Patriots Avtandil Enukidze, Zaza Mikadze, Pridon Injia and David Zilpimiani have stated that they will create the European Socialist party in the coming days.
They said that a ‘principal controversy’ with the party members on whether or not to take up mandates in the state legislature pushed them to leave the Alliance of Patriots.
The Alliance of Patriots received four seats in the 150-member parliament per the election results.
Irma Inashvili, Gocha Tevdoradze, Giorgi Lomia and Avtandil Enukidze became MPs from the party as they were the top four on the party list.
However, yesterday the parliament of Georgia suspended the MP status for Inashvili, Tevdoradze and Lomia per the request of the MPs themselves.
The ruling party MP Irakli Kobakhidze said that 'it is good the pro-Russian members of Alliance of Patriots did not enter parliament.' Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
At the end of last year the Alliance of Patriots appealed to the Georgian Central Election Commission (similar to five of eight opposition parties and election blocs) to annul its party list which meant the candidates on the list would not be able to replace the opposition MPs who officially refused to take up their mandates in parliament.
However, Zilpimiani, Enukidze, Mikadze and Injia decided to stay on the election list.
The parliament of Georgia has approved the legitimacy of Zilpimiani, Mikadze and Injia earlier today.
The ruling Georgian Dream party said yesterday that the reason the parliament voted on the suspension of the MP status for the three members of the Alliance of Patriots earlier than other opposition MPs was that other members of the party (referring to the four former members of the Alliance of Patriots) could enter parliament.
The ruling party said that the suspension of MP status for other opposition legislators will be voted on only after the fifth round of election talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition.
Foreign diplomats are mediating talks to help the parties end the current political crisis which began following the October 31 parliamentary elections.
Eight opposition parties and elections blocs which were voted in on the elections say that the elections were fabricated, refuse to take up their mandates in parliament and are demanding repeat elections.
Fifty-four of 60 opposition MPs in the 150-member parliament have requested the suspension of their status so far.
The parliament of Georgia has suspended the MP status for three of four members of the Alliance of Patriots opposition party earlier today, per the request of the MPs themselves.
MP from a pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots opposition party Avtandil Enukidze has told Rustavi 2 TV channel that he has plans to take up his mandate in parliament.
The Georgian parliament has passed a bill in its first reading earlier today which strips parties of state funding if they refuse to take up their mandates in parliament.
The Alliance of Patriots opposition party has requested the parliament suspend the status of their four MPs.
Members of the Girchi and Citizens opposition parties which have won six seats in the 150-member parliament in the October 31 elections met earlier today to discuss the current political crisis and made an offer to other opposition parties.
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) writes in its report that eight (of nine) political parties and election blocs which won seats in parliament in the October 31 parliamentary elections spent 37.3 million GEL on election campaigning between September 1 and November 17 of 2020.
"Regrettably the Georgian opposition parties, alleging widespread fraud, announced that they would boycott the second round of elections (in November 2020) and the new parliament. This is especially regrettable given that the results for opposition parties in these elections would give them a strong position to execute parliamentary oversight. Parliament is the place for the conduct of politics and debate and PACE has therefore consistently opposed parliamentary boycotts,” reads the report which was adopted yesterday.
Opposition MPs from Citizens party Aleko Elisashvili and Levan Ioseliani have decided to enter parliament, Elisashvili has confirmed with journalists earlier today.
Three MPs from the Girchi libertarian party have asked the ruling Georgian Dream party not to vote for the suspension of MP status for 51 opposition MPs tomorrow per their request.
The Georgian parliament has not suspended the MP status of 51 opposition MPs earlier today per their request. None of the ruling party MPs, who are 90 in the 150-member parliament, voted for the cancellation of MP status. Member of the United National Movement opposition party Roman Gotsiridze has stated that the ruling party ‘is afraid of the reactions of international partners’ and that is why they refused to vote for the suspension of status for opposition MPs.
Former member and a contributor of pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots opposition party Avtandil Enukidze was elected vice-parliament speaker earlier today.
Members of the European Parliament working on Georgian issues - Sven Mikser, Andrius Kubilius, Markéta Gregorová, Michael Gahler, Petras Auštrevičius and Viola von Cramon - have expressed their concern regarding the ‘careless breach of privacy’ regarding opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV director Nika Gvaramia by ruling party MP Tea Tsulukiani, as well as her ‘unflattering attitude’ towards the EU ambassador to Georgia.