“Our party, which was then in opposition, expressed disagreement with this decision. Authorities explained that the transfer of parliament to another town would promote more rapid development of the city and the entire region. But if this were so, it would be enough to place different parliaments and government agencies in regions all around the world to develop them. Of course, this is a joke. But if we’re serious, solutions of this type are more typical for authoritarian regimes, where legislature takes only a secondary role,” said the Georgian official.
David Usupashvili added that this decision seriously disrupted communication between the parliament and the government; it also complicates communication between the parliament and the international organizations and foreign embassies. “I, alongside the Members of Parliament, face this problem every day. I do not advise Moldova or any other country to repeat this experiment,” he stated.
According to him, the previous government recorded the location of Parliament in the constitution, and since the amendment of the constitutional provision is a complex and lengthy procedure, the meetings so far are held in Kutaisi.
The Georgian Speaker stated that Georgia and Moldova, both former Soviet countries, have a common history, and hence common historical heritage. “However, it is also important to note that both of our countries profess Christian Orthodox religion. Both nations have profound wine culture, in addition to many similar folk traditions. And of course, Georgia and Moldova see themselves in a diverse unity, called one, big European family,” he said.
David Usupashvili is in Chisinau on a visit today, April 29. This is the first visit paid by a Parliamentary Speaker of Georgia to Moldova.
