PM says Georgian “people granted legitimacy” to newly elected Parliament

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday said people had granted legitimacy to the new Parliament as a result of the victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the general elections last month.

In his comments to the press, Kobakhidze noted “in no other country the Parliament requires legitimacy from the opposition”, claiming “otherwise, no democratic system could be formed”.  

The only one whose legitimacy the country's Parliament needs is the population, the voters, the Georgian people”, Kobakhidze noted.

The PM also referred to the date of the convention of the new legislative body, saying the terms of holding the first meeting were provided by the Constitution, though noted he expected “Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who still is the formal President of Georgia, will once again violate the Constitution of Georgia and will not appoint a date of the first session of the Parliament”.

The Head of the Government also pointed out the first meeting of the newly elected legislative body would “be held exactly on the tenth day after the announcement of official election results - that is on November 25 - as it is stipulated by the Georgian Constitution”.

Regarding the opposition's boycott of the election results and refusal to enter the Parliament, Kobakhidze stressed the domestic opposition was not “independent in its decisions and actions”, adding “that is why the opposition has to constantly stay in its destructive agenda”.

“We, in any case, will continue [...] the peaceful and stable development of our country, this is our responsibility”, Kobakhidze said, adding this was exactly why “the Georgian people has once again put trust in” the GD party.