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inclusive, multiparty parliamentary process.”
They also called for free and fair local elections in October, and a “continued commitment” to strengthening the rule of law through reforms. “A failure to advance democracy in Georgia may result in conditioning aid, jeopardize Georgia’s pursuit of EU and NATO membership, and damage the U.S.-Georgia bilateral relationship. Only the Kremlin benefits from such an outcome,” the Senators highlighted.
2.4 UNM head Melia leaves parliament to run for Tbilisi mayor
Tbilisi mayor Kaladze to seek reelection
The head of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party Nika Melia, who has been nominated for Tbilisi mayor by several opposition parties, has stated that he is giving up his parliamentary mandate to prepare for the October 2 municipal elections.
Melia said that other UNM MPs were "formally staying" in the state legislature to complete procedures for constitutional changes and for the country to shift to the fully proportional electoral system.
He added that the opposition parties must not boycott the upcoming municipal elections and should fight for victory following the recent decision of the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw from the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
The agreement, signed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and five of the eight opposition parties (which won seats in parliament in the 2020 parliamentary elections) back in April, resolved a six-month political crisis in the country.
The document, which proposed the holding of repeat parliamentary elections if the ruling party received less than 43% of votes in the 2021 municipal elections and large-scale reforms, was not signed by the UNM because of a note in it on amnesty, the UNM said.
Several opposition MPs, MEPs and international partners have stated that the UNM’s refusal to join the agreement gave a reason to the ruling party to annul its signature to the document.
Now Melia maintains that the ruling party will have to accept the holding of repeat parliamentary elections if they receive less than 43% of votes. However, the ruling party said after the withdrawal from the agreement that it may or may not accept the holding of a repeat parliamentary poll.
The UNM won 34 of the 60 opposition seats claimed in the 150-member parliament in the October 2020 elections.
After the involvement of the EU, the party agreed to end its boycott of the parliament after a six-month political standoff, but would not sign the political agreement proposed by European Council President Charles Michel.
Meanwhile, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, a member of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party, will run for reelection in October, he announced on July 20. Kaladze is one of the most favourably viewed public figures in Georgia, and the most-liked Georgian Dream leader, according to the latest IRI-commissioned public opinion poll, from April.
9 GEORGIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com