Opposition Calls for Rally on Sunday

The eight-party opposition coalition called on supporters to gather outside the parliament at 10pm local time on June 8.

“We plan a peaceful and active protest rally at the time when this illegal parliament and illegally elected lawmakers plan to convene the first session [of the newly elected parliament],” Davit Gamkrelidze, the leader of the New Rights Party – part of the eight-party bloc – said on June 5.

“We plan to spend a night outside the parliament, so as to meet those illegal lawmakers at the entrance of the parliament next morning,” Gamkrelidze added. He gave no further details.

He said discusssions were still underway on how best to proceed. He did not however mention anything about an earlier opposition threat to prevent MPs from entering Parliament. 

Gamkrelidze’s statement came a few hours after the Central Election Commission released the final vote tally of the May 21 parliamentary elections, which the opposition said was illegal. The opposition says the elections were rigged and demands repeat polls.

The date for the first session of the new parliament has not yet been set. The opposition, however, said they planned the protest rally for late June 8 as they had information that the it would take place on June 9.

The Georgian Constitution says that the first session of a newly elected parliament should be convened no later than 20 days after the elections – June 10 is therefore the deadline. It is the president’s duty to convene the first session.