Lelo leader Khazaradze officially requests parliament to terminate his MP status

Leader of Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, has officially requested the state legislature to terminate his MP status. 

Khazaradze said earlier this week that he would quit parliament in protest of ‘fabricated elections,’ referring to recent municipal elections in Georgia. 

He says that he would continue to fight on the street for the annulment of the election results. 

Several other opposition MPs have also stated that they will leave parliament. However, they have not officially requested this so far.

The United National Movement (UNM), a major opposition party in Georgia, is holding rallies in regions and Tbilisi to demand the annulment of the election results.  Lelo is standing by the party in the rallies. Khazaradze, a co-founder of Georgia’’s TBC Bank entered politics back in 2019 after he was charged with alleged laundering of 16.7 million USD back in 2008.  

His Lelo party won four seats in parliament following the 2020 elections, while none of its candidates have won mayoral elections in the recent municipal race.