Parliament Still Deadlocked Over Budget Cuts
(Tbilisi, August 26, 2003, Civil Georgia) – For lack of a quorum, the parliament failed again on August 26 to endorse the budget cuts proposed by the government in response to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations.
State Minister Avtandil Jorbenadze, who attended the session today, slammed Parliament for its “inability to endorse this vital document for the country.”
“I think it would have been better to hold parliamentary elections earlier [the elections are scheduled for November 2]. Because this parliament is absolutely ineffective,!
221; Avtandil Jorbenadze said.
Jorbenadze’s statement caused protest from the opposition. “Do not blame the parliament, Mr. Jorbenadze. Last week your supporter MPs rejected our [opposition’s] proposal to vote on the budgetary cuts, even though enough MPs attended the session. You knew that [according to the law] the government has the right to cut expenditures without Parliament’s approval. You wanted the parliament to fail to endorse this document in order to blame and criticize the parliament and the opposition,” Chairperson of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze said at the session.
“The State Minister and the entire government were accountable for the budget. Resign,” Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Gigi Tsereteli said while addressing State Minister Jorbenadze.
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