Pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots Demand More Seats in Parliament

TBILISI-Pro-Russian opposition party Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG), which is the third party to enter new parliament after the parliamentary elections, is demanding 8 instead of 6 mandates. 

The party, which hardly managed to pass the 5 percent election threshold during the October 8 parliamentary elections, says the election results were falsified and filed a lawsuit in Tbilisi Civil Court asking for an annulment of the final protocol of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

The APG claims that the CEC attributed 6 mandates to them but that they deserve at least 8 seats.

“We will try to carry out a large-scale investigation of the elections. By law, the percentages of the parties that could not cross the threshold should be added to the parties that have entered Parliament,” the leader of the APG, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, stated.

He also added that the Alliance of Patriots will try to be a representative of the parties that could not cross that threshold.

Moreover, Tarkhan-Mouravi has decided not to go ahead with his previous plans to enter the Adjara High Council as he was hoping to become the Head of the Adjara Autonomous Republic Government.

The APG managed to gain only one mandate in the Adjara High Council after the elections and Tarkhan-Mouravi, who had intended to enter the Council, gave his seat instead to the second number on the APG party list, Zaza Okruashvili.

“Our party also hoped to gain at least 8 mandates in Adjara High Council, however, we were given only one mandate, which is unfair. I hoped to become the Head of Adjara Government,” Tarkhan-Mouravi claimed.

Alliance of Patriots formed a political bloc with five other opposition parties in early June, saying teaming up with five small parties will help them achieve better results. Others in the bloc are: Free Georgia, led by Kakha Kukava; Freedom, led by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia; Traditionalists, led by Akaki Asatiani; New Christian-Democrats, led by Gocha Jojua, and Political Movement of Law Enforcement and Armed Forces Veterans.

The bloc is famous for its anti-NATO and anti-Western statements, saying Georgia should mend ties with Russia and find a common language with the occupant neighbor in order to join Georgia’s occupied territories South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

By Thea Morrison

Photo: Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Leader of the Alliance of patriots. Source: jeje.ge