Six Opposition Parties Sign “Declaration of Unity”

25/06/2024 - 12:40

Opposition parties: UNM, Girch More Freedom, Droa, Lelo, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Ahali.

On June 24, six opposition parties signed a “Declaration of Unity” in Brussels, outlining plans for the October 26 parliamentary elections and uniting around President Salome Zurabishvili’s Georgian Charter and its principles. They set a deadline of July 8 to decide on the best unifying configuration that will be most effective in terms of winning the elections and implementing the necessary reforms after the elections.

The signatory parties: Girchi More Freedom; Droa; United National Movement; Ahali; Lelo; Strategy Aghmashenebeli. The statement calls on other oppossition parties to join the declaration too.

The parties underline their concern about the actions of Bidzina Ivanishvili and the people who “serve the oligarch and ignore the basic values of democracy and deliberately hinder Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union and NATO”. They announce their unity around the Georgian Charter and declare their goal to unite for the upcoming elections in order to enter the Parliament and implement the necessary reforms. They promise to free the country from oligarchy and the Georgian Dream rule and return Georgia to the EU integration path.

The parties promise to do everything possible to achieve their declared goals, to unite and to win the elections. They note that they will do this together with the Georgian civil society, citizens and civil society organizations. The signatories of the Declaration promise:

Intensify efforts before the upcoming elections to ensure that not a single electoral vote is lost and that crossing of the 5% threshold;
No later than July 8, 2024, determine the most effective configuration of the parties’ unity that will bring maximum results in the elections;
While maintaining an ethical framework, to continue to discuss the issues facing the country and avoid attacking each other before and after the elections;
To stand together against the propaganda of the Georgian Dream;
To agree on the formation of a unified governing coalition after the elections, in order to fulfill the points mentioned in the “Georgian Charter”;
To commit not to vote in the new Parliament for the formation of a government with the participation of the Georgian Dream;
After the parliamentary elections, to support the united presidential candidate in the presidential elections;
To unite around strategic political goals and activities with civic protest movements and activists who have fought and are still fighting to protect democracy and return Georgia to the Euro-Atlantic path;
Encourage and mobilize the maximum participation of Georgian voters living abroad in the elections and ask partner countries to facilitate the existing process;
Agree to join efforts to protect all electoral votes and prevent election fraud;
Ask the Western partners to use all available means to protect the right of Georgian citizens to participate in fair and transparent elections, as this opportunity may be deliberately restricted by the “Georgian Dream” government;
Call on the OSCE/ODIHR, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and other organizations to provide long-term monitoring of the parliamentary elections.