A break has been announced in Georgian parliament as an unclear substance with a "very unpleasant smell" has been spilled by the opposition members in the session hall, causing a delay in a major vote.
According to representative of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia Party Nukri Kantaria, it was done by members of the United National Movement.
Later, vice-speaker of the parliament Gia Volsky said that it was a member of the European Georgia - movement for freedom opposition party Irma Nadirashvili who spilled liquid of unknown origin.
Ruling party MP Irakli Kobakhidze also said that two opposition MPs brought in the liquid and spilled it in the hall earlier today. "Our reaction to the action will be very harsh," Agenda.ge cited Kobakhidze as saying.
Ruling party MPs say that the substance is "obviously poisonous."
Emergency brigades and law enforcers are present at the scene, as several of the MPs - Endzela Machavariani and Svetlana Kudba - feel ill.
The civic movement Sirtskhvilia (Shame) has taken responsibility for the incident, saying in a special statement that "we stand behind the odour of feces, which is absolutely safe for human health".
A member of the ‘Expert Club of Georgia’ Vakhtang Maisaya, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that first, the parliament was supposed to elect judges to the Supreme Court of Georgia today, and second, the powers of leader of the United National Movement Niki Melia, accused of wrongdoing during Saakashvili’s regime, should have been terminated. "This agenda provoked a strong reaction from the united opposition, represented by Saakashvili's UNM and Bokeria's European Georgia. The ruling party, which is holding the majority in parliament, chose those judges, who were direct executors of Mikheil Saakashvili's will, who actually annulled the judiciary at that time. The non-governmental sector, the united opposition are trying to prevent the election of these judges to the Supreme Court. But the ruling party supports these butchers," the expert stressed.
According to him,the UNM and the European Georgia parties are now ready for any tricks. "First, they wanted to disrupt the meeting of the legal affairs committee that approved candidates for judges of the Supreme Council. If these judges are not elected now, the Supreme Court will not be able to fulfill its functions. But all 14 candidates presented for approval by the parliament were executioners. They are opposed by the 'Save Life' public association, which includes Georgian citizens whose sons were killed during Mikheil Saakashvili's presidency," the member of the ‘Expert Club of Georgia’ noted.
He added that the majority of the Georgian population does not support the aspirations of the UNM and the European Georgia parties, recalling that the parties could not gather more than 100-200 people at he protest rally.
