The leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s parliamentary majority, Mamuka Mdinaradze, announced that key figures within the party, including Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and Chairman Irakli Garibashvili, will forfeit their parliamentary mandates in the newly convened 11th convocation of parliament.
Mdinaradze confirmed that the three senior figures, who were on the party’s electoral list, would not take their seats. “These people, as far as I know, and this is not, I think, a secret—Bidzina Ivanishvili, Irakli [Garibashvili], Irakli [Kobakhidze]—do not intend to remain in parliament,” Mdinaradze said, adding that they would apply to relinquish their mandates soon.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, who topped the Georgian Dream’s electoral list, attended the controversial parliamentary session on Monday but will not remain in office. Georgian Dream holds 89 seats in parliament, and replacements for the leaders will be drawn from the next positions on the party’s candidate list.
The session was marred by protests and widespread criticism. President Salome Zourabichvili, opposition parties, and civil society organizations consider the new parliament and its election process illegitimate. Zourabichvili has said the session was unconstitutional, citing alleged election fraud and her refusal to convene the session, which she argues is a constitutional prerogative.
The session was attended solely by Georgian Dream members, with opposition parties boycotting the proceedings. The diplomatic corps also abstained from attending, due to not being invited by the ruling party. Protesters gathered outside parliament, voicing their opposition to the election results and the newly convened parliament.
