The ruling Georgian Dream party has not invited the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia to the first session of the 11th Parliament, scheduled to be held on Monday, November 25. This marks a first for the Georgian Dream party while in power. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili described the inaugural session as a “celebration of the Georgian people.”
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“Members of the government and representatives of constitutional bodies are invited to the first session of parliament. As for ambassadors, they are not invited to the session.
This is an internal state matter concerning the elections and the first session of parliament. To minimize undue foreign influence, it is important that the involvement of ambassadors or representatives of other countries in this process is deemed unnecessary.
We, Georgians, must understand that this is a Georgian parliament, representing the Georgian people. Alongside the newly elected members of parliament, the government and constitutional bodies will be present. This is a general approach that I believe is important for the parliament to maintain,” said Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
According to Papuashvili, the first session of parliament will begin at 12:00 and will be chaired by its oldest member, Lado Kakhadze.
On November 21, Giorgi Gakharia, chairman of the “For Georgia” party and former Prime Minister of Georgia, called on the ambassadors accredited in Georgia not to attend the first session of the newly elected parliament. He argued that their absence would prevent the Georgian Dream party from gaining legitimacy.
As per the constitution, the first session is convened by the president. However, Salome Zurabishvili has declared the parliament illegitimate and has refused to issue the corresponding decree. Zurabishvili has also appealed to the Constitutional Court, requesting that the election results be declared unconstitutional.
Opposition party representatives will also boycott the first session. They are demanding an international investigation into the October 26 elections and the scheduling of new elections.
According to the Central Election Commission, recognized solely by the ruling party, the opposition holds 61 out of 150 seats in the new parliament, while the remaining 89 seats belong to the Georgian Dream.
In contrast, the first session of the 10th parliament in 2020 was attended by the President of Georgia, representatives of the executive and judicial branches, the diplomatic corps, and the Patriarchate of Georgia. That session, however, also faced a boycott by the opposition.”
