A brawl broke out in Georgian parliament on June 26 as MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition For Georgia clashed during the spring session’s last plenary, in which Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze presented his annual report.
The fistfight erupted during the question-and-answer session after MP Giorgi Sharashidze from the opposition For Georgia party, led by exiled ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, made remarks about Kobakhidze’s perceived role during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent visit to Georgia.
Footage published by different media outlets showed a number of MPs physically confronting each other, with verbal abuse and fist-fighting reportedly lasting several minutes. Parliamentary security removed opposition MPs from the plenary room as the fight continued.
The videos showed the fight initially erupting between two MPs — reportedly Georgian Dream’s Irakli Kheladze and Giga Parulava of For Georgia — before involving more lawmakers, both men and women, as Kobakhidze and his cabinet members were seen observing from their chairs in the distance as the physical confrontation unfolded.
In remarks made from the podium during the Q&A session, For Georgia’s Giorgi Sharashidze referred to Aliyev’s April visit and his meeting with Georgian Dream founder and Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili. Footage from the meeting, which went viral, showed Kobakhidze following the two in the background, reinforcing the perception that he plays a secondary role within the ruling party while Ivanishvili exercises ultimate power.
“When President Aliyev was in Georgia, and the whole country saw those images – how you were standing in the corner – it directly shows your real role and position in this government,” Sharashidze said, followed by noise from the room. “How is this? Explain it to us. Georgia has had many prime ministers, but never one like this,” he continued.
“Take your shamelessness and rudeness elsewhere,” he added, addressing ruling party MPs, who apparently responded with loud verbal remarks. Moments later, the brawl erupted, as Sharashidze left the podium and parliamentary broadcasting was briefly halted.
Among those clearly identified as hitting opponents were Georgian Dream MPs Lasha Talakhadze, a three-time Olympic champion in weightlifting, and Archil Gorduladze, chair of the legal issues committee.
Following the incident, emergency medical services were called to the parliament building and were seen on site.
More to follow…
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