Opposition Leader Outlines Demands

Kakha Kukava of the Conservative Party, part of the nine-party bloc, said the opposition coalition would seek repeat parliamentary election through street protests.

“We won’t be able to reach our goal without pressure exerted by people on the authorities through street protests,” Kukava said while speaking at a Tbilisi-based Kavkasia TV late on May 23. “First thing we should achieve is disbanding this [newly elected] illegitimate parliament; then the political forces should seat at [a negotiating] table and decide on electoral issues, including on a new chairman of the Central Election Commission, who should be respected and trusted persons – and here we can also listen to the Patriarchate [of the Georgian Orthodox Church] and its recommendation about who this person can be.”

Kukava also called on supporters for a large-scale protest rally on May 26 – the Georgian’s Independence Day and said that opposition supporters from the provinces should also join the rally in the capital city.

Kukava was among those leaders within the nine-party bloc who were strong supporters of the boycott of the new parliament.