At a session of the temporary investigative commission, former Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia responded to a question from Commission Chair Tea Tsulukiani regarding the termination of For Georgia party mandates, stressing that it was a political decision made by the ruling party.
“When you voted to terminate our mandates, it was your political decision. If you expect us to take responsibility for your legitimacy, you’re very wrong,” Gakharia stated. “Let’s set aside my moral assessment of why our deputies do not recognize the legitimacy of this parliament.”
Gakharia says the core issue with Georgian Dream’s legitimacy is that the current parliament effectively functions as a one-party system.
He added that how his party treated its voters would be judged in future elections. As for the commission’s composition, Gakharia noted that two of his party members who could have participated were absent due to the nature of the commission’s work: “You declared one goal for this commission, but now you’re investigating completely different matters. The original purpose has been abandoned.”
He reiterated that while For Georgia had no objections to the procedural discussions in committee, the final vote to revoke the mandates was entirely political: “That was your decision. Our decision was to engage in a political boycott.”
Gakharia also requested that commission members refrain from cutting his microphone and said he would wait patiently if there were any technical issues. In response, Tea Tsulukiani told him, “Don’t be afraid, calm down.”
Related story: Gakharia on mandate termination: A page from the Kremlin’s playbook
