BERLIN, Feb 6 (Bernama-dpa) -- After a months-long boycott of Georgia's parliament, 49 pro-Western opposition lawmakers have returned their mandates, representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party said on Wednesday, German news agency dpa reported, citing the Interpressnews.
That means Georgia's legislature has officially been downsized from 150 to 101 seats.
Georgia has been beset by a political crisis since disputed elections in October, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party - which is seen as favourable to Moscow - claimed victory.
Several opposition parties refused to accept the result, accusing the governing party of fraud, and their elected representatives boycotted parliament.
The parliamentary majority convened without them and has now officially accepted the renunciation of the mandates.
Lawmakers of pro-Western former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia's party are also boycotting parliament, but have not officially returned their mandates.
Georgia has been rocked by anti-government protests for weeks, especially since Georgian Dream decided to put EU accession talks on hold at the end of November.
Hundreds have been arrested, including opposition members and journalists, and many have been injured amid clashes between police and protesters.
Several EU countries and the US have imposed sanctions on the leadership in Tbilisi over the violent crackdown on the protests.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
