Inside Parliament, a half-empty room. Outside, in the rain, thousands of angry people, wrapped in European and Georgian flags, facing police cordons. On Monday, November 25, the new Georgian Parliament opened, under high tension, its first session since the contested legislative elections of October 26. Considered a choice between Europe and Russia, democracy and authoritarianism, the vote was officially won by the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party with nearly 54% of the votes, but the opposition denounces a vote “rigged”.
In order not to legitimize the Parliament, the elected opposition deputies boycotted the inaugural session, leaving only the 89 members of Georgian Dream out of the 150 seats in the institution. The president, Salomé Zourabichvili, who also rejects the results, did not attend the opening session and denounced a “Black Monday”. “Massive electoral fraud undermined the legitimacy of its Parliament”she justified the day before.
Appeal to the Constitutional Court
Mme Zourabichvili, whose position is essentially honorary, filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, November 19, to have the vote canceled. She denounced this first parliamentary session as being “unconstitutional” because Georgian Dream opened this inaugural session despite its refusal – to it – to open the session as required by the Constitution; but also because of the violations observed during the vote and the legal challenges regarding the official results. Legal experts and the NGO Transparency International have also declared that the convening of the new Parliament constitutes a “flagrant and serious violation” of the Constitution.
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On Monday, Georgian Dream MPs nevertheless recognized the authority of the 150 members of Parliament, including elected members of the opposition. The latter announced their intention not to sit. If they keep their word, Parliament risks becoming a one-party Assembly, further undermining its legitimacy, without hindering the Georgian Dream's ability to act. The outgoing President of Parliament, Chalva Papouachvili, was confirmed in his position on Monday. In the coming days, a vote must confirm the retention of the current Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, the henchman of the billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, true master of the country and considered as Vladimir Putin's puppet.
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