Opposition Coalition Figures Slam Labor Party

Some politicians from the opposition coalition have suggested that although the Labor Party had publicly announced its intention to renounce its MP mandates, the party was in fact trying to drag-out the process.

Speaking on Tbilisi-based a Kavkasia TV talk-show on June 19, Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party and Eka Beselia of Movement for United Georgia – both part of the opposition coalition – said that the Labor Party was on the one hand “playing the authorities’ game” and on the other hand trying to portray itself as willing to renounce their MP mandates.

Six candidates were elected on the Labor Party’s ticket. Two of them – formally not Labor Party members – Nugzar Ergemlidze and Ramaz Tedoradze broke ranks with the Labor Party and entered Parliament. Four of them, including the party leader Shalva Natelashvili, made an official appeal to renounce their MP mandates. The official appeal, which should be addressed to Parliamentary Chairman Davit Bakradze, however, is written in non-legal terms, describing Parliament as “the headquarters of the ruling party” and the parliamentary chairman as the head of this headquarters.

Kakha Kukava has suggested that the form the appeal took could have been deliberately used to drag out the process of the consideration of the Labor Party’s appeal by Parliament; its wording may require reworking if it is to be accetable to Parliament. He also said that the Labor Party, instead of annulling its entire party list of MP candidates, had requested the Central Election Commission (CEC) to annul the list from above number ten only.

The annulment of the entire list would have meant that none on the list could have taken the seats vacated by MPs elected on the party-list. The Labor Party’s move means that if its four members renounce their MP mandates, three others on the list – Nestan Kirtadze; Paata Jibladze and Konstantine Gugushvili – will take the vacant seats.

When asked about the decision, Giorgi Gugava of the Labor Party sidestepped the issue, instead saying that it was the party’s perogative to do as it had done.  He did say, however, that the three others on the list would subsequently renounce their MP mandates.