MPs Quit Ruling Party
MPs Teo Tlashadze and Ketevan Makharashvili, who have close links to the ex-defense minister, Irakli Okruashvili, officially quitted the ruling National Movement party on September 14.
?I didn’t fight because I wanted to live in an authoritarian state. Therefore, I am quitting the ruling majority, which protects only the rights of the few,? Tlashadze said at a press conference, which was held at a building in downtown Tbilisi considered to be Okruashvili’s party headquarters.
On September 12 Tlashadze publicly ripped up her party membership card following an incident in Gori, in which the arrest of several officials from the local administration had triggered unrest outside the local administration building.
MP Makharashvili said her decision to resign wasn’t just a whim. ?The recent violations of human rights are absolutely unacceptable to me,? she said.
?I have often felt ashamed for being a member of the ruling majority. I don’t understand how the majority leaders can repeatedly use redundant arguments to defend themself,? Makharashvili said.
?I do not want to share the responsibility for the decisions made by the ruling majority,? she added.
The resignations have not come as a surprise. Earlier, other parliamentarians from the ruling majority had downplayed the significance of potential defections, saying they would change nothing.
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