MP from the United National Movement (UNM) Eka Kherkheulidze has said that the ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili asks the opposition MPs to refrain from renouncing their mandates before the election bill providing for a lower election threshold is approved.
Saakashvili, who had previously urged the opposition to leave their MP seats, has seemingly changed his mind after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) head Irakli Kobakhidze noted that the ruling party has ‘no obligation’ to support the election bill for a lower threshold.
However, Kherkheulidze maintains that Saakashvili has not changed his mind regarding boycotting the parliament.
This [election bill] is, I am quoting his [Saakashvili’s] words, an obligation towards the Georgian people and we have to fulfill it, she said.
Kherkheulidze added that although the UNM faction will support the election bill, it will continue boycotting the other parliamentary activities.
The constitutional amendment for a lower election threshold requires the support of at least 113 MPs in the 150-member state legislature, which means that both the ruling party, which has 90 MPs, and the opposition, should support it.
Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction, which has also boycotted the parliament in support of Saakashvili, announced that its MPs will attend the parliamentary sessions to vote for the election bill in the coming days.