Parliament Bureau Sets Format for President’s Annual Address

Parliamentary bureau, a body uniting senior lawmakers, setting Parliament’s weekly working agenda, has decided that President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s annual state of the nation address on March 31 will be followed by speeches from leaders of parliamentary factions.

During the debates one representative from each of the 11 factions in the Parliament (seven factions from GD majority group, three from UNM minority group and Free Democrats faction) will have 15 minutes to deliver a speech; opposition lawmakers wanted to apply a procedure envisaging more extended debates, but it was voted down by GD members of the parliamentary bureau.
 
It will be President Margvelashvili second state of the nation address in the Parliament.

Debates whether the government members should attend president’s address or not in the Parliament dominated in the run up to the event. The President has urged earlier the government not to snub again his annual address. But PM Irakli Garibashvili said he and government members do not have to be present as under the existing constitution president is no longer head of the executive branch.  PM Garibashvili said he would watch President’s address on TV.

“In general we try to avoid pomp and therefore decided that there is no need for the government to be present at the president’s address,” Garibashvili said on March 26, adding that it was “in no way a disrespect of institutions.”

President Margvelashvili responded that the government should be present as it is a “tradition”, which has to be respected.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)