The Christian-Democratic Party presented a set of conditions, which it proposes all opposition parties adhere to in discussions with the ruling party.
The party, which said it would not boycott the new Parliament, said on June 11 that the demands outlined in its anti-crisis memorandum would help create favorable conditions for the opposition if accepted by the authorities.
“Agreement on this memorandum will be very important for us in launching intensive activities in the Georgian parliament,” Giorgi Targamadze, the Christian-Democrats leader, said at the presentation of the memorandum. “We have no illusion that implementation of this memorandum will create an oasis environment in Georgia for the opposition. But we believe that agreement on most of its provisions will be a serious precondition for developing democratic processes in Georgia and raising the efficiency of the opposition’s activities in the parliament.”
The 13-point memorandum deals with the election system; the judiciary and law enforcement system; the media and the opposition’s powers in Parliament.
The memorandum mainly replicates some of the provisions outlined in the opposition’s joint memorandum issued in late January 2008.
Regarding the election-related demands, the memorandum proposes to appoint the chairman of the Central Election Commission on the basis of cross-party consensus and to amend the current election code in accordance with recommendations put forth by international election observers, as well as to investigate all alleged election-related violations, particularly attacks on opposition activists.
It also demands the direct election of city mayors – now elected by City Councils – and provincial governors – now appointed by the president.
The appointment of an opposition representative to the Supreme Council of Justice – overseeing the judicial system, as well as reform of law enforcement agencies by a multi-party commission is also among the demands.
It also proposes that the heads of the Chamber of Control – the main state audit agency – and the General Prosecutor’s Office be opposition appointees.
In respect of the opposition’s powers in Parliament, the memorandum proposes to allow a group of at least five lawmakers, instead of the current seven, to set up a formal faction. The ruling party said earlier it was ready to reduce the minimum number of MPs for forming a faction to six.
“The authorities should guarantee the implementation of constitutional amendments only based on an agreement with the opposition,” the memorandum reads, adding that a binding declaration can serve as a guarantee.
The ruling party has 119 of the 150 lawmakers in Parliament, which is a constitutional majority.
The memorandum also demands legal guarantees that each parliamentary faction will have the right to appoint a vice-speaker and in addition each opposition group will have the right to appoint deputy chairmen of parliamentary committees.
It proposes setting up a special parliamentary commission, chaired by an opposition lawmaker, to monitor government expenses.
Vis-a-vis the media, the memorandum demands the creation of a legal framework to “secure balance on the Georgian Public Broadcaster in the period between the elections,” as well as the right for the opposition to appoint representatives to the National Regulatory Commission for Communications.
Targamadze said that he was waiting for the authorities’ response to the memorandum.
The opposition coalition – or at least most of its members – is intent on boycotting Parliament. It said it would not go into talks with the authorities based on the CD memorandum. Instead it called on other opposition parties to join it in boycotting Parliament.
“The [boycott] issue has become a dividing line between those who are real opposition [politicians] and those who are not,” Davit Gamkrelidze, leader of the New Rights Party – part of the opposition coalition, said on June 10. “Those who enter Parliament are not real opposition [politicians].”
The Labor Party said it would not adhere to the memorandum. “We have only one demand – the disbandment of the current parliament and the holding of repeat elections. All the rest is unacceptable as it would amount to launching dialogue with the authorities,” Shalva Natelashvili said.
The Labor Party also said it would not enter Parliament. The party, however, seems unwilling to officially renounce its MP mandates, at least for now.
MP Paata Davitaia, leader of the small On Our Own party, which fought the elections under the opposition bloc’s umbrella but quit the bloc shortly after the elections, said he was ready to engage in talks with the authorities over the memorandum provisions.
“If the provisions outlined in the memorandum are not accepted by the authorities, there will be no reason to continue working in Parliament,” Davitaia said on June 11.