Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Watch politicians fight in Georgia's Parliament

Politicians started throwing punches after a member of the ruling coalition allegedly swore at an opposition member

Kiran Moodley
Sunday 28 December 2014 09:52 GMT
Comments
(ITN)

Seemingly finding the actions of their Kenyan counterparts rather tame, an all-out brawl erupted in the Georgian Parliament on Boxing Day following disagreements between the government and the opposition.

The fighting occurred during a vote on the composition of Georgian delegates in international bodies, with the opposition accusing the government of taking a pro-Russian position.

According to reports, a member of the ruling coalition swore at a member of United National Movement, the largest opposition party in Georgia.

Scuffles then broke out in Georgia's Parliament building in the city of Kutaisi, with pushing and shoving eventually giving way to several punches being thrown.

Video from the legislative chamber shows one member of parliament ripping a microphone from a table and using it as a weapon, while another scene shows one man jumping up onto the tables to get to one member in particular.

In the end, paramedics and security had to enter the room to break up the fighting, with the former providing treatment to those who had been wounded in the federal fistycuffs.

After all that, the debate resumed and the parliament voted in favour of the government's proposals. It looks like the administration won this round.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in