NGOs call on parliament not to suspend MP status for opposition members

Two Georgian-based non-governmental organisations have called on the country’s parliament not to support removal of MP status from three opposition leaders, following an approval of the Procedural Issues Committee to revoke their positions on Monday.

In their statement, published on Thursday, Transparency International Georgia and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy call the possible dismissal of the MPs as “another step towards weakening the parliament,” calling on the legislative body to “resolve the issue based on the interests of the country and political expediency.”

The statement raises a question of inefficiency of the legislative body in terms of its oversight, stressing the weakening effect of the opposition’s boycott of the parliament and adding the action had “further deepened the political crisis.”

• Parliamentary committee approves dismissal of four MPs

Ruling party MP Irakli Zarkua responded to the statement and criticised NGOs, noting they had not called on deputies to enter the parliament during their boycott "as our international partners were doing."

The NGOs position on the subject refers to the committee’s approval of suspending MP status for leading opposition figures - Elene Khoshtaria from Droa party, Shalva Natelashvili from Labour Party and Badri Japaridze from Lelo.

The committee decided to approve Japaridze’s dismissal due to his recent conviction of fraud in a case dating back to 2008. Japaridze, a co-founder of TBC Bank and a current leader of Lelo, was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison by Tbilisi City Court on January 12, along with TBC co-founder and Lelo leader Mamuka Khazaradze. Their sentence was waived due to the statute of limitations.

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However, the NGOs claim there is no “solid legal basis” for the termination of power for Japaridze due to the aforementioned reason.

The mere existence of a conviction alone does not constitute grounds for termination of power,” the statement says, emphasising the importance of holding discussions in the parliament regarding the issue “primarily in the interests of the country and the electorate.”

For Khoshtaria and Natelashvili, the termination of their MP status was approved by the committee due to their absence on all the autumn sessions of the legislative body. The parliamentary regulations allow for suspension of member status in such cases. 

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The statement of the organisations rejects the decision in the case of Khoshtaria and Natelashvili, noting “the parliament has already refused to terminate the term of office once during the plenary voting,” highlighting the fact that Natelashvili began to consider re-entering the legislative body earlier this year.

The leader of the Labour Party announced earlier today that he decided to engage in the parliamentary activities, saying that the decision had been made by the party's political committee. 

The issue of formal suspension of the MPs will be up for an upcoming plenary session of the parliament, with support from at least 76 MPs in the 150-member body required to approve the decisions.