UNM member Mamulashvili leaves parliament amid opposition protests of election results
Mamulashvili praised the leader of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, for his decision to suspend MP status which he announced at the protest rally yesterday in central Tbilisi. Photo: Mzia Saganelidze/RFE/RL.
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The largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party member Nona Mamulashvili has announced earlier today that she will leave the Georgian parliament amid the protests of the municipal election run-offs results and demand of its annulment by the opposition.
Mamulashvili stated that the election results were stolen by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, noting that ‘it makes no sense to be in parliament.’
I will address the parliament very soon and I will officially leave the mandate,” Mamulashvili said.
She praised the leader of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, for his decision to suspend MP status which he announced at the protest rally yesterday in central Tbilisi.
Leader of opposition party Girchi - More Freedom Zurab Japaridze has also left the parliament following the protest wave.
Ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who currently is on hunger strike in prison, has urged opposition MPs to leave their mandates, saying that the GD falsified the results of municipal elections. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The Georgian opposition leaders claim the results of the election run-offs are falsified, announcing rallies in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi, and a large-scale demonstration in Tbilisi on November 6.
Based on the final results of the local self-government election run-offs held on October 30, the opposition has won the majority in seven out of 64 municipalities – Batumi, Zugdidi, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Rustavi and Senaki.
However, the ruling party mayoral candidates have won in all self-governing cities and municipalities except for Tsalenjikha, where the UNM party candidate, Giorgi Kharchilava, won with 51.11%.
The US Embassy has released the statement earlier today which shares the evaluations of the OSCE/ODIHR, stating that ‘elections were generally calm and well-administered but allegations of intimidation and pressure on voters persisted.’
A total of 1,024,406 out of 2,088,722 voters participated in Georgia’s local municipal election run-offs which amounted to 49.9% of eligible voters.
Former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has from prison urged opposition MPs to leave their mandates in protest, stating that the Georgian Dream (GD) government fabricated the results of recent municipal elections.
The United States Embassy to Georgia has stated that electoral reforms made by Georgian politicians earlier this year have increased the transparency of the voting process – emphasising, however, that ‘widespread violations adversely affected the ability of citizens to vote freely’ in local self-government elections in Georgia.
The opposition has won the majority in city assemblies in seven out of 64 municipalities – Batumi, Zugdidi, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Rustavi and Senaki. GD head Irakli Kobakhidze stated that ‘the majority will be formed on the basis of negotiations with the members of the city councils,’ in municipalities where GD lost the majority, noting that ‘work on the issue has already started successfully.’
One of the leaders and a co-founder of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, says that he will demand the suspension of his MP status to ‘continue the fight on the street’ for the annulment of the recent municipal election results.
Georgian opposition leaders have gathered with their supporters in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi to protest the results of the October 30 run-off municipal elections. The opposition, claiming that the election results were fabricated, announced rallies in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi, in addition to the massive demonstration in Tbilisi scheduled for November 7.
The official results of the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the 2021 municipal election run-offs in Georgia show that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party mayoral candidates have won in 19 municipalities, while the opposition United National Movement (UNM) contender has won in just one. Incumbent Tbilisi mayor and candidate Kakha Kaladze from the GD took 55.6% of the votes over the UNM’s Nika Melia, with 100% of the votes counted.
More members of opposition are renouncing their MP mandates following the municipal run-offs of October 30 in which the ruling party candidates won the mayoral race in 19 of 20 contested municipalities, including in Tbilisi.