Georgian PM calls on president to dismiss government, call elections

The Georgian prime minister called on the president Friday to dismiss the government and parliament, and call new legislative elections. Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said President Mikheil Saakashvili would be authorized to use the right to dismiss the government and the parliament not six months after the parliamentary elections on Oct. 1, 2012, but three months after the constitutional amendments which he would propose to the legislature for adoption. Georgian parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili held a special press briefing Friday to elaborate on the prime minister's initiative. The speaker said the legislature would leave all but one presidential authority in force till the end of his term, which ends in October next year. The only exception the parliamentary chairman would seek to change via constitutional amendment concerned the right to dismiss the government, he said. "The parliament is prepared to lift its immunity about the restriction of six months for dismissal," Usupashvili said. "If the president decides that something unacceptable is happening in the country, he has to save Georgia and the government must be changed, we agree but this must be implemented by dismissing the parliament in the first place and conducting new early elections." "We are telling the president and the (opposition party United) National Movement, if you agree with this proposal, let's do so and see who will win and who will lose," he said. The parliament speaker explained to the press that, with the constitutional amendment, the president would not be able to unilaterally change the Georgian government without the people's consent. Earlier in the day, Saakashvili sent to the unicameral legislature his version of the proposed amnesty bill, which left out the part concerning political prisoners and political refugees. "The (amnesty) bill vetoed by the president entered the parliament today (Friday)," Usupashvili said. "He (the president) signed the bill and the political prisoners' case is underscored. The president considers that, in a democratic Georgia, it is impossible to have political prisoners." "The (parliamentary) majority has a different position," the speaker added. The 150-seat parliament of Georgia is scheduled to vote on the president's counter-proposal of the amnesty bill later on Friday. If the majority of the lawmakers do not agree with the presidential proposal, the legislature will have to enact procedures to override the presidential veto. The parliament needs the support of at least 89 of the 150 lawmakers to override the presidential veto. The unicameral legislature of the South Caucasus country last week adopted the amnesty bill with a ballot of 80 votes for and one vote against, before sending the bill to the president for endorsement.