Opposition parties in Georgia sign joint statement renouncing their seats in parliament
Opposition political parties running in the parliamentary elections in Georgia have signed a joint statement saying they will not enter the new convocation of parliament.
The statement is signed by parties who have passed the threshold gaining seats in the parliament, as well as those whose result was below 1 percent.
The document was signed by:
United National Movement
European Georgia
Lelo
Strategy Agmashenebeli
Alliance of Patriots
Citizens
Labor Party
Republican Party
Law and Justice
European Democrats
United Georgia
Tribune
Victorious Georgia
For Justice
Free Democrats
Freedom
Free Georgia
Christian Democratic Movement
Demands of the opposition
Leaders of the opposition parties call for:
1) Cancellation of election results and holding repeat elections
2) Elimination of systematic electoral violations that led to massive fraud. This includes changes in the staffing rules for the Central Election Commission.
The final results released by the CEC were as follows:
1. Ruling Georgian Dream party – 48.24%
2. National Movement – United Opposition – 27.15%
3. European Georgia – 3.79%
4. Alliance of Patriots – 3.14%
5. Lelo – 3.16%
6. Strategy Agmashenebeli – 3.15%
7. Girchi – 2.89%
8. Citizens – Aleko Elisashvili – 1.33%
“We, the opposition parties, who have had their elections rigged, are giving up our seats in parliament and will take all political and legal steps to prevent de jure and de facto entry into this so-called parliament. We do not recognize the legitimacy of this parliament, because it was elected as a result of fraudulent actions and does not express the will of the people,” the statement says.
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“There has never been such a unity of the opposition in Georgia, and this proves once again that amidst this election fraud, Georgian Dream is completely alone and opposes the entire opposition spectrum and a very significant part of the Georgian society, whose votes were forged against their will by means of fake protocols, pressure, and falsifications,” said David Bakradze, one of the leaders of European Georgia.
“The unity we see here today is truly unprecedented. In my opinion, this will be the basis of the victory that awaits us very soon. It will not be the victory of a particular party, but the victory of truth and justice, the victory of the Georgian people,” said Tina Bokuchava, a member of the United National Movement.
“The task regarding me personally was not to let me get into the parliament at any cost, because Ivanishvili did not expect that such solidarity would unite all parties – including parties that won 20-25-27 seats, parties that won 3-5 seats and parties who did not receive a single seat as a result of electoral fraud. We all stand in solidarity with each other,” said the leader of United Georgia, Nino Burjanadze.
Text of the statement
The parliamentary elections on October 31, 2020 were held in conditions of violence and intimidation of voters, coordinated pressure from the State Security Service and the criminal world, large-scale bribery, abuse of administrative resources and violent influence on the will of voters. This was accompanied by manipulations with election protocols and a “carousel” that significantly distorted the election results.
The final results published by the CEC do not reflect the will of the citizens of Georgia. To us, the opposition parties, it is absolutely clear that our fellow citizens rejected Ivanishvili’s rule and did not give him the mandate for a third term of ruling the country. Consequently, this parliament does not reflect the will of the electorate. Therefore, we, the opposition parties, who have had their elections rigged, renounce our parliamentary seats and will take all political and legal steps to prevent de jure and de facto entry into this so-called parliament.
We do not recognize the legitimacy of this parliament, because it was elected as a result of fraudulent actions and does not express the will of the people. This decision is fully shared by the undersigned political parties, which, according to data released by the CEC, did not enter parliament as a result of these rigged elections.
We continue to fight against Ivanishvili for a better democratic future for our country. The democratic opposition demands to annul the results of these elections, hold re-elections and systematically eliminate all violations, including the CEC staffing rules, which led to systematic falsification of these elections.
