Parliament should vote on the issue of termination of the power of the opposition MPs

The statement issued by the authorities that the Parliament of Georgia is not going to vote on the issue of termination of the power of the MPs representing the opposition is not consistent with the requirements of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, as it may not force MPs refusing their mandates to carry out parliamentary activities, it may lead to inefficient spending of millions of GEL from the budget and it cannot ensure the de-escalation of the political crisis. With this in mind, the statement made by Irakli Kobakhidze that the Parliament will not vote to terminate the powers of the opposition MPs seems to be an attempt to manipulate constitutional provisions to create the illusion of the multi-party system in the Parliament.

One of the grounds for early termination of the term of office of a Member of Parliament of Georgia shall be a personal statement submitted by a Member of Parliament. Pursuant to Article 6, paragraphs 3 and 12 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, Parliament shall immediately consider the issue of early termination of the term of office of an MP. (The statement by an MP shall be immediately forwarded to the Committee on Procedural Issues, which shall prepare a report within two weeks and submit it to the Bureau. The Bureau shall include the issue in the agenda of the next plenary session). According to the same article, voting on other issues on the agenda shall not be allowed until the decision on the early termination of the term of office of a Member of Parliament is made. Consequently, if the parliamentary majority does not put to the vote the statement of the opposition MPs requesting the termination of their powers, it may hinder the activity of the Parliament as a whole.

The final decision on the termination of authority is made by the Parliament of Georgia. Whatever decision Parliament makes, the waiver of a mandate is the right of an MP and the political instrument at his or her disposal, the use of which cannot be restricted by Parliament. As a result, refusing to terminate the term of office for an MP would only create the illusion of the existence of opposition parties in Parliament while the opposition would not actually be involved in parliamentary activities.

In addition, regardless of whether the 10th convocation Parliament terminates the powers of the opposition, they will still be able to boycott the parliamentary process. In such a scenario, the opposition will be formally represented in Parliament, yet in fact, the legislative body will remain one-party. In terms of real results, the boycotting opposition will not be involved in parliamentary activities as it would be in the event of the termination of power.

In addition, the ruling government should take into consideration that the boycott as a tool employed by the opposition obliges the ruling party to at least conduct negotiations with representatives of the opposition and try as much as possible to reach a consensus. Neglecting the issue cannot be regarded as a relevant response to the boycott.

Furthermore, under the current reality, the refusal to terminate the powers of those MPs who demand the termination of their mandates may lead to inefficient spending of budget funds. The monthly remuneration of each MP is up to 5,000 GEL. According to the results of the first round of the 2020 elections, 59 newly elected members will decide not to enjoy the parliamentary mandates. Refusal of the ruling party to approve the resignation may result in a budget expenditure of more than 3.5 million GEL annually, paid as the salaries to boycotted MPs.  

In view of the above, the statement made by the Executive Secretary of the ruling party on the refusal of the 10th Parliament of Georgia regarding the statement of the opposition MPs requesting the termination of their powers can only serve the narrow party interests of the ruling party and in no way can be considered a step to normalize and deescalate the political crisis and may not insure against the risk of forming a one-party parliament. 

“Democracy Index – Georgia” calls on the government to apply all legal or political instruments to help ease the current crisis. The one-party rule will lead to the deinstitutionalization and de-legitimization of the Parliament, leaving the ruling government responsible for responding appropriately to the opposition’s boycott - engaging in an actual dialogue and reaching consensus with the opposition political parties - which is the goal of boycott as a political tool in the democratic process.