Parliament Abstains From Revoking Opposition Mandates
The Parliament of Georgia did not endorse terminating the mandates of 51 opposition MPs, as the majority of lawmakers abstained from voting in the February 2 Plenary Session.
After the Session, senior Georgian Dream lawmaker Mamuka Mdinaradze said the party took into account, among other factors, EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell’s recent calling.
Prior to the vote, Georgian Dream Chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze announced the party had decided to refrain from terminating the opposition MP mandates. He argued the decision would allow the lawmakers another chance to “respect their voters’ will.”
Of the 51 opposition MPs that retained their parliamentary seats, 36 were elected through the proportional list of the United National Movement-led Strength in Unity Bloc, 5 through the European Georgia, 4 through Lelo, 4 through the Strategy Aghmashenebeli bloc, 1 through the Labor party and 1 through Girchi.
As per the October 31 parliamentary election results, 60 opposition MPs were elected to the legislature. Besides the 51 MPs participating in the boycott of the Parliament, six opposition lawmakers already took up their mandates, while the remaining three Girchi MPs so far have neither requested revocation nor decided on entering the legislature.
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