NGOs respond to the developments in the Municipal Council of Borjomi
The recent developments and political confrontation in the Municipal Council of Borjomi clearly go beyond the legal limits for the exercise of local self-government and causes a considerable damage to the essence of self-government as the right and opportunity of citizens of Georgia to solve local issues by means of local self-government bodies, in accordance with the Georgian legislation.
After the local self-government elections of 2017, the Municipal Council of Borjomi has been the only municipal council in Georgia which is mainly composed of members of opposition parties.
It should be noted that the Municipal Council of Borjomi only managed to take a decision on the staff list and salary amounts of the City Hall at its extraordinary session of February 28, although, according to the Chairperson of the Municipal Council, the decision is illegitimate. The session also involved a physical confrontation, which was later followed by mobilization of law enforcement officers in front of the building of the Municipal Council. At this time, oppositionist members of the Municipal Council, including the Chairperson of the Municipal Council, were not allowed to freely enter the administrative building.
Accordingly, the existing crisis became even more acute, hindering the work of municipal services, which reflected on the use of relevant services by the local population. The labor rights of employees of the City Hall of Borjomi were also violated (they have not received their salaries for the past three months).
We believe that the foregoing causes a considerable damage to the essence of self-government and goes beyond the legal limits for the exercise of self-government, because, in spite of the political basis of the formation of the Municipal Council, its members are not restricted by the regulations and instructions of the political associations that nominated them in the performance of their duties and should carry out their activity on the basis of the principles lawfulness and transparency. Therefore, we call upon:
Members of the representative and executive bodies of the Borjomi Municipality:
To exercise more responsibility in their activity and to cooperate with one another in a constructive and lawful manner, in accordance with the essence of self-government;
The state authorities and political parties:
To stop interfering with the activity of the bodies of the Borjomi Municipality, in order to allow the City Council and the City Hall to carry out their activities in accordance with the essence of self-government.
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy
Transparency International Georgia
Civil Development Agency (CiDA)
Open Society – Georgia Foundation