Inside Parliament, a half-empty room. Outside, in the rain, thousands of angry people, draped in European and Georgian flags, confront police cordons. On Monday, November 25, the new Georgian Parliament opened, under high tension, its first session since the disputed legislative elections of October 26. Considered an election between Europe and Russia, democracy and authoritarianism, the vote was officially won by the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party with almost 54% of the votes, but the opposition denounces a vote “rigged”.
In order not to legitimize Parliament, elected opposition deputies boycotted the inaugural session, leaving only the 89 Georgian Dream members of the 150-seat institution. The president, Salomé Zourabichvili, who also rejects the results, did not attend the inaugural session and denounced a “Black Monday”. “Massive electoral fraud undermined the legitimacy of its Parliament”he justified the day before.
Appeal to the Constitutional Court
METROme Zourabichvili, whose position is essentially honorary, presented an appeal to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, November 19, to have the vote annulled. He denounced that this first parliamentary session was “unconstitutional” because Georgian Dream opened this inaugural session despite his refusal – to her – open the session as required by the Constitution; but also for the violations observed during the vote and the judicial challenges to 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.
However, on Monday Georgian Dream deputies recognized the authority of the 150 members of Parliament, including elected members of the opposition. The latter announced their intention not to sit down. If they keep their word, Parliament risks becoming a one-party Assembly, further undermining its legitimacy, without hampering 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 permanence of the current prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, a trusted man of the billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, the true master of the country and considered a puppet of Vladimir Putin.
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