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Demonstration marches down the Kostava Street towards the Rustaveli Avenue. Photo: Civil.Ge
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Opposition leaders called on thousands of supporters outside the parliament to disperse and prepare for repeat rallies at the time when newly elected parliament’s first session would be scheduled.
The Central Election Commission has yet to announce final results of the elections before the new parliament is convened. According to the law the new parliament should be convened no later than 20 days after it was elected – hence no later than June 10. CEC has 18 days after the polling day to announce final official results.
“We should plan each and every day before the first session of the parliament,” Levan Gachechiladze, co-leader of the nine-party opposition bloc told protest rally shortly before it dispersed. “We should gather here again a day before the first session of the parliament and keep a vigil so that not to allow anyone [newly elected lawmakers] inside the parliament building. We will go to the provincial regions in order to bring more people here.”
Opposition leaders said that the plan was to prevent the newly elected parliament from convening its first session.
“Our key goal is not to let the parliament convene its first session, even at the expense of bursting into the parliament,” Gachechiladze said. “We do not want to stand above the law and above the constitution. But it is ruled out that we will let a handful of criminals rule our country.”
The opposition which will have only 30 seats in the 150-member parliament has no legal levers to prevent the parliament from being convened. According to the law two-third of lawmakers is needed to endorse the authority of the new parliament. The ruling party has 130 seats in the parliament and even if all opposition lawmakers boycott the session, it will fail to thwart endorsement of the new legislative body’s authority.
The nine-party opposition bloc says that the only way to prevent the first session is to not let ruling party lawmakers inside the parliament chamber. “Illegal parliament will not be convened in Georgia and we will use force if it is needed for that purpose,” Gubaz Sanikidze of the National Forum – part of the nine-party bloc – said at the protest rally outside the parliament.
Labor Party, Christian-Democratic Party and Republican Party have also joined the rally on May 26.
The Labor Party is among those four parties which cleared the 5% threshold along with the nine-party bloc, the Christian-Democratic Party and the ruling party. Shalva Natelashvili, the Labor Party leader, said his party would join the boycott. The Christian-Democratic Party has failed so far to give any clear-cut position about the issue.
President Saakashvili, meanwhile, said on May 26 that he believed unanimous opposition boycott would fail and called again on the opposition for a dialogue.
“Everyone should respect the Georgian people’s position,” he said at a news conference after meeting with the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, in Tbilisi. “We offer a hand of dialogue to everybody. I do not think that all representatives of the opposition will not enter the parliament. I am sure that very many representatives of the opposition will be in the parliament.”
He said that decision are made by majority, but also added that he was ready to take into consideration and to respect the opinion of those in minority.
The May 26 protest rally was the largest held by the opposition in recent couple of months. Some opposition leaders even seemed surprised with large turnout, especially after a small rally late on May 21 when only few thousand people gathered at the nine-party bloc’s demonstration against, what it called rigged elections.
