Transparency International Georgia and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy respond to the termination of the mandate of 3 opposition MPs.

“Parliamentary Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules supported the termination of the powers of 4 MPs, Shalva Natelashvili, Elene Khoshtaria, Badri Japaridze and Kakha Kuchava.

The role of the opposition in carrying out oversight function in the parliamentary republic is especially important. For years, parliamentary control has been the subject of criticism. Granting certain rights to the opposition in the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament does not allow the opposition parties to exercise full control over the executive branch.

In recent years, the Parliament has been inefficient in terms of control, including pandemic management. The initial boycott of opposition parties further weakened the legislature and deepened the political crisis.

After opposition lawmakers decided to get involved in the parliamentary work and came up with concrete initiatives for parliamentary control, the illegal termination of power of one of the opposition leaders is an alarming sign, aimed at weakening the opposition and thus undermining the functioning of legislature”, - reads the statement of NGOs.