The Parliament approved on September 24 with its third and final reading President-initiated draft constitutional amendments - one, allowing ten opposition politicians to retake their parliamentary seats and the other, envisaging partial relocation of the Parliament to Kutaisi.

The amendment envisaging relocation of parliamentary sittings in Kutaisi will come into force on the day of publishing the final vote tally of next parliamentary elections. Next Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2012. Initial draft envisaged relocation starting from January 1, 2012.
 
Another constitutional amendment passed on September 24 allows ten opposition politicians, who gave up their MP credentials after the May, 2008 parliamentary elections claiming ballot rigging, to regain their seats in the legislative body.

MP Levan Vepkhvadze of the Christian-Democratic Movement, a leading party in the parliamentary minority group said at the parliament’s plenary session that giving up of mandates was “a mistake” by ten opposition politicians.

“We should be brave enough to acknowledge our previous mistakes and start active parliamentary activities,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference on September 24 Pikria Chikhradze of the New Rights Party said that three of the party members were not going to retake their seats in the Parliament.

The Georgian media sources recently reported that Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the leader of Freedom Party, might agree on the proposal. Gamsakhurdia, however, has not spoken publicly yet on the matter.