Opposition, Ruling Party at Odds over Mayoral Nomination Rule

The opposition Republican and Conservative Parties claim that the ruling National Movement party?s proposed solution to the existing legal deadlock over nomination of MP Koba Davitashvili and MP Davit Berdzenishvili as Tbilisi and Batumi mayoral candidates, respectively, is illegal and can not be accepted.

Leader of Conservative Party Koba Davitashvili and MP Davit Berdzenishvili of the Republican Party said on August 28 that they were deprived of the chance to run in local elections after the election date was set for October 5. According to the law, a member of the Georgian Parliament who wants to run in local elections should first be stripped of his MP credentials, a procedure which must take place at a parliamentary session. But the first session of Parliament is scheduled for September 12, while the deadline for a Mayoral candidate to submit an application to the Central Election Commission (CEC) expires on September 11.

Influential MP from the ruling National Movement party Giga Bokeria said on August 28 that this procedure cannot serve as an obstacle for the opposition MPs to run in the local elections. He proposed that a decision by the Parliamentary Bureau, a body which gathers a week before the first parliamentary session, will be enough to strip Davitashvili and Berdzenishvili of their MP credentials. Chairman of the Central Elections Commission Guram Chalagashvili also confirmed on August 28 that the CEC will accept the Parliamentary Bureau?s decision as valid.

However, Tina Khidasheli of the Republican Party said on August 29 that the of MP Giga Bokeria and CEC Chairman Guram Chalagashvili’s proposal contradicts the Georgian Constitution.

?This contradicts not only the law on Members of the Georgian Parliament, but also the Georgian Constitution,? Tina Khidasheli said, adding that Chalagashvili is acting under the instruction of MP Bokeria and not in accordance to the law.

?There has been not a single case when the Parliamentary Bureau took a decision of this kind. This is absolutely illegal,? MP Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party said.