Georgian Central Election Commission annuls electoral lists of three of four opposition groups 

Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has annulled the electoral lists of three of four opposition groups upon their request, leading the way to a possible one-party parliament in the country.

On Tuesday evening, the CEC said they had annulled the lists of the opposition groups the Coalition for Change, Unity – National Movement, and Strong Georgia, who all submitted requests to do so on Monday and Tuesday.

‘[This] parliament is not recognised by anyone, neither inside nor outside the country; it is a self-proclaimed parliament and a self-proclaimed government’, said Sopo Japaridze from Unity – National Movement on Tuesday.

Elene Khoshtaria from the Coalition for Change said their group did not intend to have ‘any connection with this parliament, and none of us will set foot in this parliament’.

The fourth opposition group to have officially passed the 5% electoral threshold in 26 October’s parliamentary elections, For Georgia, has yet to clarify if they will follow suit, with party leader Giorgi Gakharia stating on Tuesday that a decision would be made ‘when and in such a form as we consider necessary’.

‘I will repeat once again that no one can pressure us to renounce our list […] We will not ask either the “Natsis” [the United National Movement] or Ivanishvili and his party’, he said.

Gakharia, a former interior minister and then prime minister under Georgian Dream, stepped down in February 2021 in response to the arrest of an opposition leader. After forming his own party, he has grown highly critical of Georgian Dream while also attempting to distance himself from other opposition parties. He has since come under fire from Georgian Dream and pro-government media.

The CEC’s move means that if any MPs from the three opposition groups in question stand down or are removed from office, they will no longer be replaced. All three groups have said their MPs will now submit their resignations.

If all MPs from these parties were to submit their resignations these would have to be approved individually by a vote in parliament. If this were to happen, it would lead to only 101 of 150 seats being filled, 89 from Georgian Dream and 12 from For Georgia.

The official results of the elections gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a large majority, with 54% of the vote. However, local media and observer groups have documented widespread electoral violation by the ruling party.

Despite so far declining to clarify if they would officially renounce their seats, MPs from For Georgia joined the three other opposition groups in boycotting Monday’s inaugural parliamentary session.

During the session, Georgian Dream MPs voted to recognise the authority of all 150 members, including the elected opposition members who have refused to take their seats.

A number of legal experts have said that convening the new parliament is in breach of the constitution, given the violations that took place during the vote and the legal challenges being mounted over the official results.

[Read on OC Media: Georgian Dream opens new parliament in apparent breach of constitution]

Earlier on Tuesday, Strong Georgia called on the three other opposition parties to begin consultations on a ‘People’s Parliament’, with plans to ask Western countries to recognise it as Georgia’s legislative body instead of the Georgian Dream-led parliament.

Other opposition parties have not yet responded to the initiative.