Parliament suspends status of two opposition MPs
MPs Zurab Japaridze (L) and Mamuka Khazaradze requested the suspension of their status in early November of the year. Photo: RFE/RL.
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The Georgian parliament has suspended the MP status of Lelo party founder Mamuka Khazaradze and leader of the Girchi-More Freedom opposition party Zurab Japaridze earlier today with 79 votes in the 150-member state legislature, per their request.
Both MPs submitted an official request to parliament to have their status terminated in early November in protest of what they claim were the ‘fabricated’ results of the recent municipal elections in October.
They are demanding the annulment of the election results as well.
Girchi - More Freedom is a libertarian party founded by Japaridze.
Khazaradze entered politics back in 2019, shortly after he was charged with laundering 16.7 million USD along with another founder of TBC Bank, Badri Japaridze.
Lelo for Georgia won four seats in parliament in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
In the recent municipal elections Lelo candidates failed to win any of the mayoral constituencies as the GD candidates won 63 of the 64 constituencies, while the UNM candidate won only one.
Lelo received 2.71% of the vote in the proportional part of the race, came fourth after the GD, the UNM and the For Georgia parties.
Currently 147 MPs remain in parliament as the state legislature also suspended the status for the head of the United National Movement opposition party, Nika Melia, in early October.
Lelo opposition party leader Mamuka Khazaradze has officially requested parliament earlier today to suspend his MP status to ‘continue the fight on the street’ for the annulment of the recent municipal election results.
The Lelo - Partnership for Georgia faction, composed of seven opposition MPs, has boycotted parliament's plenary sessions until arrested former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is brought to a civil clinic to receive ‘proper medical care’ after a 33-day hunger strike.
The Georgian parliament has suspended the MP status of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia with 79 votes earlier today, as Melia requested back in August 2021 to prepare for the October 2 municipal elections.
Founder of the Lelo opposition party Mamuka Khazaradze says that Georgia is ‘facing existential threats,’ from Russia and pro-Russian forces in Georgia, and states that a ‘powerful national platform’ should be created which will ensure the presence of the US military in Georgia, a rapid signing of a free trade agreement with the US, and the adoption of a lustration law to reveal spies of enemies in the public service.
The Lelo opposition party has been able to re-create a faction in parliament as the MP from the United National Movement - United Opposition election bloc Dilar Khabuliani decided to join.
Members of the opposition For Georgia and the United National Movement (UNM) parties claim that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party intends to adopt a municipal budget prior to the convening of new city councils (Sakrebulo), members of which were elected in October local self-government elections.
The leader of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, has said that he will move to the western Georgian town of Tsalenjikha, and assist the newly appointed opposition mayor. Khazaradze announced his decision while delivering his speech at the opposition rally in the city of Zugdidi last evening.