Georgia’s election administration issues temporary certificates to newly elected MPs ahead of inaugural Parliament session

Georgia’s Central Election Commission on Wednesday announced it had issued temporary certificates to newly elected MPs in last month’s general elections, in preparation for the official recognition of their authority at the first session of the 11th Parliament.

The CEC stressed the certificates were required to be issued shortly after the election results were finalised, and were part of the legal process to formalise the lawmakers' status ahead of the inaugural parliamentary session.

This procedural step follows the finalisation of the results from the October 26 general elections, with the CEC summarising the results last week. 

The results confirmed that five political parties and alliances had exceeded the five percent threshold in the vote:

• Georgian Dream: 53.93% – 89 seats in the Parliament
• Coalition for Change: 11.03% – 19 seats 
• Unity-National Movement: 10.17% – 16 seats 
• Strong Georgia: 8.81% – 14 seats 
• Gakharia for Georgia: 7.78% – 12 seats 

With the first parliamentary session scheduled for November 25, opposition parties have announced they will not take up their mandates, protesting what they claim were “rigged elections”. 

Demonstrations are ongoing in Tbilisi, with opposition groups demanding a rerun of the vote, while also addressing the Constitutional Court to annul the election results. 

Levan Bezhashvili, a member of the Unity-National Movement, on Wednesday said 34 opposition MPs had filed a suit in the Court, adding if the latter refused to accept the lawsuit, it would constitute “another unconstitutional decision”.

He further noted the registration of the lawsuit would require the Parliament Mandate Commission not to register any of the 150 MPs for the session, effectively preventing the convening of the legislative body.

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association also said the Parliament of Georgia was “unable to recognise” the powers of the elected members until the dispute was resolved in the Constitutional Court.

The Georgian Dream party has dismissed the opposition’s allegations as “groundless”, insisting that the new Parliament requires “the legitimacy of the people, not opposition groups”.