EU Ambassador Hartzell responds to termination of MP status for opposition legislators

EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has responded to yesterday’s vote in the Georgian state legislature which terminated MP status for three opposition legislators.

 

Hartzell refused to discuss the basis of the decision, but said that the process may harm political pluralism in parliament. 

 

He called on political parties to use parliament as a major platform for political debates.

 

Opposition MPs Badri Japaridze, Shalva Natelashvili and Elene Khoshtaria lost their seats in parliament on February 15 after several hours of heated debate between the opposition and the Georgian Dream majority.

 

The reason for the decision in case of Japaridze was his recent conviction for fraud, while Khoshtaria and Natelashvili were dismissed for not attending parliamentary sessions.