MPs from Industrialist Party Join Opposition’s Memorandum

Parliamentarians from the Industrialists party will join a memorandum, which has already been signed by the Democratic Front (uniting lawmakers from the Republican and Conservative parties) and New Rights parliamentary factions on April 7, leader of the Industrialist party Gogi Topadze told reporters after talks with the representatives of the Democratic Front.

But he said that the Industrialists will add their demands to the existing memorandum.

The memorandum signed by the Democratic Front and New Rights parliamentary factions demands the resignation of Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, the creation of new election administrations by political parties on a parity basis and direct elections of city mayors and regional governors.

“We want even tougher memorandum and we will add our demands to it, related with improvement of the business climate in the country and resignation of entire cabinet,” Gogi Topadze, said.

Interior Minister Merabishvili’s dismissal will automatically lead to a resignation of the entire cabinet, as Merabishvili will be sixth Minister replaced in this cabinet since it was approved in February, 2005. According to the law the entire cabinet should resign if one-third of its members change.

Gogi Topadze also noted that the Industrialists party plan to hold consultations with the authorities and the ruling National Movement party in an attempt “to gauge their willingness to compromise.”

Topadze, a wealthy businessman who owns Georgian beer company Kazbegi, said that the Industrialists were advocating inclusion of problems related with the business from the very beginning of consultations with the opposition New Rights and Democratic Front parliamentary factions.

The memorandum says that the opposition parliamentary factions reserve the right to the boycott parliamentary session until their demands are met by the authorities.

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