At least four MPs elected on the opposition bloc’s joint ticket will take their seats in Parliament and at least two others are wavering on their earlier commitment to boycott the legislature. The Labor Party is also showing signs of a reluctance to renounce its MP mandates.
The parties within the opposition bloc determined to boycott the new parliament announced on Tuesday that their lawmakers would officially ask Parliament on June 13 to annul their mandates.
“Those [within the coalition], who fail to sign the appeal, will be expelled from the united opposition,” a coalition statement, issued after bloc members met on Tuesday, reads.
The coalition won seventeen seats in the recent elections.
At least four out of them have already indicated they will take their seats and have quit the coalition. They include: Dimitri Lortkipanidze, who was a member of Georgia’s Way Party until his resignation shortly after the elections; Paata Davitaia, leader of On Our Own party; Gia Tortladze and Giorgi Tsagareishvili – both were individual member of the coalition.
At least two coalition members seem to be undecided, as they still haven’t given a clear-cut position on the matter – Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the leader of Freedom Party and Jondi Bagaturia, the leader of Georgian Troupe.
Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission 9CEC) said on June 10 that it had annulled the opposition coalition’s list of MP candidates.
The coalition asked the CEC to annul the list on June 9. Ordinarily when a lawmaker elected on the party-list system quits Parliament, the candidate next to him or her in the list takes the seat. The annulment of the party list means that no one in the list of MP candidates will be able to take the free seats.
“Those who deem themselves as opposition politicians will join the appeal [requesting their MP mandates be renounced],” Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party, part of the opposition coalition, said.
The Labor Party, which said it would boycott the new Parliament, has given no indication of its position on the request to the CEC.
MP Giorgi Gugava of the Labor Party sidestepped the issue in an interview with Civil.Ge on June 10, saying instead that “the important thing is that we are not entering this Parliament.”
The Labor Party won six seats. Two have already entered Parliament, for which they have been criticized by the party leadership.
Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Party, with six MPs, has already made it clear that it will not boycott the Parliament.
Instead of a boycott, the party, led by Giorgi Targamadze, has outlined a set of preconditions which it proposes that all opposition parties adhere to in discussions with the ruling party. The presentation of the document was initially planned for Tuesday, but the party said it would take place on June 11.
Targamadze said on June 9 that the memorandum contained “realistic demands” addressed to the authorities. “The memorandum includes such issues like guarantees that the ruling party would not use its constitutional majority to unilaterally amend the constitution; as well as the direct election of mayors and governors,” Targamadze said.
The Christian-Democratic Party has called on other opposition parties to jointly push these demands instead of boycotting Parliament.
Those in favor of a boycott have rejected the CD proposal, while those keen to take their seats in Parliament seem more receptive.
Paata Davitaia, the leader of On Our Own party, said he wanted the authorities to give the opposition certain levers of powers, including oversight of the Chamber of Control – the state audit agency – and the General Prosecutor’s Office.
