Davit Sergeenko, the majority deputy of Saburtalo from Georgian Dream party, who did not support the Russian law “on foreign agents” in March, is being stripped of his powers as a parliament member. The Procedural Issues and Rules Committee will discuss this issue on July 14.
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“As far as I know, over 50% absences have accumulated, and that's why this issue is being discussed at the committee, although the decision has not been made yet,” Irakli Kobakhidze, the leader of Georgian Dream, told journalists.
According to Kobakhidze, consultations will be held with Davit Sergeenko: “We will have friendly consultations and based on that we will make a decision regarding how much Mr. Davit wants to continue working in the parliament,” Kobakhidze said.
According to the rules of procedure of the Georgian parliament, one of the grounds for the early termination of a deputy's powers is if he/she fails to attend without good reason more than half of the regular sittings during regular sessions.
On March 7, with 76 votes, Georgian Dream passed the draft law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the first reading, which declared non-governmental organizations and media outlets that are financially independent from the government as agents of foreign influence. The bill was not supported by Georgian Dream deputies Irakli Kovzanadze, Vladimir Chachibaia, Nino Iobashvili, Davit Sergeenko, Giorgi Khelashvili, Elguja Gotsiridze, Irakli Medzmariashvili, and Ketevan Dumbadze.A few hours after the voting, Ketevan Dumbadze and Irakli Medzmariashvili said that they supported the bill, however, due to a technical error, their vote was cast incorrectly. Irakli Kovzanadze, Elguja Gotsiridze and Nino Iobashvili did not attend the session.
Davit Songhulashvili, the member of the parliamentary majority, the majority deputy of Gurjaani, Sighnaghi, Dedoplistskaro, and Sagarejo districts, apologized for supporting the Russian law, writing on his official Facebook page: “I am not avoiding personal responsibility and I believe that I myself have made a big mistake.” He soon deleted this statement, and then said that the most important was that he expressed himself and why he took down the post is not relevant,’’
It was reported that Georgian Dream demanded to leave the mandate of a member of the parliament from those deputies who did not vote for the adoption of the Russian law.
Soon after, Vladimir Chachibaia and Nino Iobashvili were appointed as advisers to Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, and Giorgi Khelashvili - as an adviser to the Speaker of the Parliament. Irakli Kovzanadze withdrew his mandate. Davit Sergeenko also commented to the media about leaving the parliament, saying he was waiting for a collective position of the party management on this issue.
Georgian Dream dropped the adoption of the Russian law after mass protests held on Rustaveli Avenue and unprecedented international pressure. On March 7-9, the authorities dispersed the demonstrations using tear gas, water jets, and pepper spray.
