Georgian MPs Confront Conflict-of-Interest Issues

The Georgian parliament recently ousted one of its members, Badri Nanetashvili, for violating conflict-of-interest rules that prohibit the active involvement of MPs in entrepreneurial endeavors. It marked the second time in three months that the statute had been used to remove a legislator. While some observers are applauding the enforcement of ethics rules, others are concerned that the governing party may be arbitrarily applying regulations to root out opponents.

After hearing evidence that Nanetashvili was engaged in day-to-day operations of a local television station and newspaper that he owns, parliament voted unanimously June 21 to strip him of his mandate. Nanetashvili, who quit the governing National Movement party after the conflict-of-interest charge was raised, maintains the action against him was politically motivated. In a telephone interview with EurasiaNet, Nanetashvili said he had been experiencing pressure from the government for the past two years, explaining that he had fallen out of favor because he did not always vote with the National Movement in parliament. He accused two influential National Movement figures, Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and MP Giga Bokeria, of trying to force him to sell his stake in the local TV channel and resign his parliamentary seat. Bokeria strongly denied the allegation, the Civil Georgia web site reported.

Khatuna Gogorishvili, the heads of the parliamentary Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, insisted that a political motive did not factor into Nanetashvili's ouster. "All facts are quite clear that he is head of a TV broadcasting company and a newspaper at the same time," Gogorishvili said. "There are documents showing that he never left his responsibilities there." Nanetashvili allegedly influenced the editorial stance of the station, Trialeti, which broadcasts in the Shida Kartli Region.

Some MPs, meanwhile, believe the vote against Nanetashvili was an instance of selective prosecution. One such legislator is Kakha Kukava, a member of the Conservative Party who serves on the rules committee. In a telephone interview, Kukava suggested that Nanetashvili was unfairly singled out for punishment. While the evidence justified Nanetashvili's ouster, Kukava said, dozens of other MPs are known to be active in businesses, yet they are not facing investigations. "When there is a parliament where many MPs operate businesses, where there are over 20 millionaires and the only one they are investigating is Nanetashvili who is not a big businessman, and who only became known to the public after this investigation, [I am suspicious]," Kukava said.

Tamuna Karosanidze, deputy director of Transparency International in Georgia, praised legislators for upholding established ethics standards, but she added that the lack of a systematic method for investigating suspected lapses by MPs created the impression that the process was subjective and unfair. "In general it is good what the parliament is doing – this is the first time that the parliament has tried to reveal business interests," she said. "[However] I would first do an analysis, not go against MPs on a very ad-hoc basis."

The first MP to be investigated by the parliament was Valeri Gelashvili, a member of the opposition Republicans. Gelashvili's MP status was revoked on March 31. Georgia's Constitutional Court is now considering an appeal of his case.

Gogorishvili admitted that Nanetashvili is not the only MP involved in business activities. But she stressed Nanetashvili was targeted for investigation because of the existence of clear-cut evidence. In April the public defender, Solzar Subari, filed a report against Nanetashvili on behalf of 11 journalists working at the station. The journalists complained that Nanetashvili was heavily involved in media operations, and accused him of abusive behavior, including "forcing them to blackmail" members of the regional administration in both Gori and Shida Kartli.

Nanetashvili responded that local law enforcement officials coerced the journalists into making the complaint. "Two were just given blank pieces of paper and told to sign their names for a grant application," he told EurasiaNet. "Three others are now working for local authorities and the patrol police."

While Gogorishvili said it is an open secret that many MPs are still active in business, she added that ethnical violations are difficult to prove in most cases because there is no state body responsible for verifying the information contained in disclosure forms submitted by MPs. She noted that there have been discussions on creating such an oversight body, but added that plans remain on the drawing board. "My personal position is I will always be against any MP who violates the Georgian legislation," Gogorishvili said.

Nanetashvili insisted that the National Movement always knew of his connections with the television station. "I was put on the party list because I owned the television station," he said. "I was able to help them a lot during the Rose Revolution." He said that since his ouster from parliament, he has come under added scrutiny from Georgian prosecutors. "They are trying to arrest me, or create something to take possession of the television station," said Nanetashvili, adding that he plans to appeal parliament's decision in court. "And I will never let them have my television station."