Opposition’s protest targets Parliament on inaugural session

Demonstrators on Monday threw eggs at the Parliament building in Tbilisi during its inaugural session, protesting what they deem the body’s illegitimacy during an opposition rally against last month’s “rigged” general elections.

Gathering at the right-hand entrance of the building, they attempted to disrupt the session using trumpets and chants. 

Legal experts, including Vakhushti Menabde, a constitutional law specialist, on Monday raised concerns over the session’s legality.

Menabde argued on social media that any decisions made by the Parliament today, including the recognition of authority of MPs, would be unconstitutional, given the ongoing dispute over the  legality of the elections in the Constitutional Court. 

Menabde claimed since the Court was set to rule on the constitutionality of the elections, any parliamentary decision, such as approval of laws, the budget, or the Government, until its ruling would be invalid.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who addressed the Court with the lawsuit this month, also echoed the concerns, saying on Sunday the parliamentary session would be unconstitutional due to “massive electoral fraud”, which she claimed had “undermined its legitimacy”. 

She also reiterated her refusal to convene the first session of the legislative body, and noted her appeal to the Constitutional Court was still pending.