Georgian Parliament suspends 49 opposition mandates, reducing seats to 101

The Georgian Parliament has suspended the mandates of 49 opposition lawmakers, reducing its total number of members to 101 instead of the 150 prescribed by the Constitution.

The decision was approved by the Parliamentary Committee on Procedures and Regulations, which reviewed the requests from members of the coalitions "Unity – National Movement," "Coalition for Change," and "Strong Georgia" to revoke their mandates, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media.

The committee also confirmed the authenticity of the signatures provided.

The agenda includes the issue of terminating the mandates of MPs from "Unity – National Movement," "Coalition for Changes," and "Strong Georgia," amounting to 49 opposition members.

The MPs had initially submitted requests to relinquish their mandates in November 2024, but "Georgian Dream" had not discussed these written requests until now.

According to the final protocol of the Central Election Commission (CEC), following the elections on October 26, 2024, "Strong Georgia" secured 14 mandates, the "Coalition for Change" gained 19, and "Unity — National Movement" obtained 16 mandates.

Gakharia's "For Georgia" party holds 12 mandates in parliament. Like other parties, the political union of Giorgi Gakharia declares the October 26 elections illegitimate and does not participate in parliamentary activities, though they have not submitted a statement to revoke their mandates.

Note that, the "Coalition for Change," "Strong Georgia," and "Unity — National Movement" have all appealed to the CEC to withdraw the lists. The "For Georgia" party, which also does not recognize the legitimacy of the XI convocation of parliament, has merely stated that they do not intend to work within this legislative body.

By Aghakazim Guliyev