Georgia’s 11th Parliament convenes for inaugural session

Georgia’s 11th Parliament on Monday convened for its inaugural session following last month’s general elections. 

Chaired by its most senior member, Lado Kakhadze, the session will continue under his leadership until a new Chair is elected. 

Present in the session hall are only members of the Georgian Dream ruling party, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, its Honorary Chair and the number one on the party’s election list, with its 88 members having registered in the 150-member legislative body amid the opposition’s protest against  “rigged” elections last month. 

The list of invited attendees for the session has been restricted to heads of state bodies and clergy of the Orthodox Church . 

During the session, two temporary commissions will be established - the Vote Counting Commission, responsible for overseeing the voting process, and the Mandate Commission, which will ensure  recognition of MPs’ credentials.

The Temporary Vote Counting Commission, composed of 11 members, will manage the ballots and ensure  accurate counting of votes during open or secret ballots, ceasing its activities once the agenda for the first session concludes. The Temporary Mandate Commission, made up of 17 members, will validate  election results, with the authority to assess MPs’ credentials before the Parliament's powers are officially transferred.

The Parliament will begin its duties once two-thirds of  members' credentials are recognised. After taking an oath of allegiance to the country,  MPs will proceed to submit their faction formations and parliamentary majority lists to the Temporary Mandate Commission.

The Parliament's first session will cover electing the Speaker, vice-speakers, and committee chairs, concluding once the matters are settled.

The official results of the Central Election Commission show that five political entities have entered the Parliament. 

The GD retains its majority with 89 seats, while other parties include the Coalition for Change with 19 seats, the Unity - National Movement with 16 seats, the Strong Georgia with 14 seats and the Gakharia for Georgia with 12 seats.