Georgian Parliament approves early termination of mandates for 49 opposition MPs on request

The Georgian Parliament on Wednesday approved early termination of mandates for 49 opposition MPs after they refused to recognise the results of the parliamentary elections held last October and  take up their seats at the legislative body.

The issue was presented to the Parliament by Davit Matikashvili, the Chair of the Procedural Issues and Rules Committee.

He introduced the list of 49 members from the opposition groups Coalition for Change, Droa, United National Movement  and Strong Georgia, who had submitted requests to the Speaker of Parliament for the termination of their mandates.

Each case was put to a separate vote, with between 80 and 83 MPs supporting the decisions and none voting against. A minimum of 50 votes was required for the approval.

The opposition Gakharia for Georgia party refuses to enter the Parliament, although they have not formally applied to the legislative body to terminate their mandates.