Georgian speaker condemns opposition "blackmail" as parliament revokes 49 mandates

Those who attempt to blackmail democracy and the people will always face a fair and constitutional response, said Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili after the vote to revoke 49 opposition MPs' mandates.

"On behalf of the Georgian people, we will not allow the Constitution and democracy to be disregarded, nor will we let the radical opposition, with the help of their internal or external patrons, trample on the will of the people," Papuashvili stated, Caliber.Az reports per Georgian media.

He further noted that opposition representatives from the previous parliamentary term "did not, in reality, work a single day in the legislature."

To recap, Georgian Parliament has suspended the mandates of 49 opposition lawmakers, reducing the total number of members to 101 instead of the constitutional 150.

The decision, approved by the Parliamentary Committee on Procedures and Regulations, followed requests from MPs of the "Unity – National Movement," "Coalition for Change," and "Strong Georgia" to relinquish their mandates. These requests were initially submitted in November 2024 but were only addressed now.

Following the October 26, 2024 elections, "Strong Georgia" secured 14 seats, the "Coalition for Change" 19, and "Unity – National Movement" 16. Meanwhile, Giorgi Gakharia’s "For Georgia" party, holding 12 seats, also rejects the election results but has not officially resigned from parliament.

By Aghakazim Guliyev