Opposition Bloc Boycotts Parliament, Calls for Rallies

The nine-party opposition bloc said on May 23 it would not accept the parliamentary election results and called for protest rallies.

“The united opposition has decided to give an example of struggle and bravery to entire Georgia,” Levan Gachechiladze said while speaking on behalf of the bloc at a news conference outside the Parliament. “The united opposition refuses to enter this parliament and the united opposition stays with its people. We call on entire Georgia to come to the Sport Palace at 10 a.m. on May 26 and join the decedent movement of the 21st century.”

Davit Gamkrelidze, the leader of the New Rights Party – part of the bloc – said: “I want to address entire Georgia, I want to address our voters. They gave me an MP mandate; they expressed their trust to me, but I want you to understand me correctly – I have no right to enter the parliament, which is a product of criminal authorities’ illegality and terror. I cannot become a member of that parliament, which is illegitimate, which is illegal and which is a result of Soviet-type elections. I cannot receive this mandate. I hope, you, both the Vake constituency [where Gamkrelidze won a majoritarian MP contest] and entire Georgia, will understand me correctly. I ask everybody, our voters, to gather at the Sport Palace at 10 p.m. on May 26 and continue our struggle for liberation of Georgia.”

“I want to call on all opposition political parties, who consider themselves being such, to say no to legalization of the Saakashvili’s government, to say no to getting involved in the game, which is offered by the authorities,” Koba Davitashvili, the leader of Party of People – part of the nine-party bloc, said.

He then called for a march towards the Rustaveli Avenue on May 26, where the military parade is planned to mark the Georgia’s Independence Day.

“We ask all parties to gather outside the Sport Palace at 10 p.m. on May 26 and then to go and talk with our soldiers. The army belongs to us as well. It does not belong to Saakashvili and soldiers are our brothers and our children. I call on everybody to unite, to stand together and struggle together for liberation of Georgia,” Davitashvili said.

“These were not elections,” Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party – the part of the nine-party bloc, said. “Therefore, we demand that these elections be recognized as illegitimate and invalid. We will enter the parliament after the elections are held in a free atmosphere; we will enter the parliament, which will be elected by the Georgian people and not appointed by Saakashvili. We will struggle to achieve this goal.”

“It was the most violent, the most undemocratic and bloody elections ever held in Georgia,” Eka Beselia of the Movement for United Georgia Party said. The party, which is part of the nine-party bloc was founded by ex-defense minister, Irakli Okruashvili.

“Therefore, we will not enter the parliament where there will be parliamentarians appointed by Saakashvili and [Interior Minister Vano] Merabishvili. We demand repeated parliamentary elections and we will enter only that parliament, which will reflect the free will of the Georgian people,” she added.

“From today Georgia is divided into two parts – Georgia and anti-Georgia,” Gubaz Sanikidze of the National Forum, part of the bloc, said. “We remain on the Georgia’s side and those who will enter into this parliament are anti-Georgia and we will make them leave this building very soon [referring to the Parliament building].”

Consultations within the bloc and other opposition parties were underway on May 23.

Four political groups – the ruling National Movement Party, the nine-party bloc, the newly set up Christian-Democratic Party and the Labor Party – have cleared 5% threshold and endorsed candidates in the parliament, according to the official results.

Labor Party leader, Shalva Natelashvili, has already welcomed this decision by the nine-party opposition bloc and said his party would also join the boycott.

The Christian-Democratic Party, however, seemed to be reluctant to do the same.

Giorgi Targamadze, the leader of the Christian-Democratic Party, said on May 23 that although there have been electoral violations, “it does not mean that we should go to extremes.”

“We think that all resources should be used. Just recall previous parliaments and you will see that initially the opposition was not represented in large numbers [opposition ranks in the outgoing parliament increased after some lawmaker quit the ruling party],” Targamadze said.

Meanwhile, earlier on May 23 the ruling party called on the opposition to give up considering possible boycott of the parliament. Davit Bakradze, ex-foreign minister, who led the ruling party’s list of MP candidates, said boycott would be irresponsible towards the voters who cast their ballots for the opposition.

He also said that the ruling party was ready to engage in talks with the opposition over distribution of parliamentary posts.

The ruling party, according to the Central Election Commission, has secured about 120 seats in the 150-member parliament, which means that it has a constitutional majority.