“We cannot accept the criticism from the OSCE Secretary General. Out of respect for our 170,000 voters, we have chosen to remain in a political boycott and, as a result, did not retain our mandates,” stated Giorgi Sharashidze, a member of the political council of the Gakharia for Georgia party.

According to him, the political boycott undertaken by Gakharia for Georgia is a legitimate form and means of political struggle as provided by law.

“We firmly stand by our decision. Our respect for our voters is the reason we are in this boycott, and that is why we did not retain our mandates. For us, a political boycott is a lawful strategy of political resistance. We continue to uphold this stance. While we understand what the OSCE implies in this context, our team cannot accept it. We remain committed to respecting the will of our constituents, even though we do not recognise the legitimacy of this parliament. Yesterday’s session exemplified this, as the Georgian Dream party made a political decision to relinquish its mandates despite our boycott. This was done to prevent the parliament from falling into the same disgrace as it did during yesterday’s committee meeting,” Sharashidze explained.

During his speech at the annual OSCE Parliamentary Assembly event in Portugal, OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu stated that “having 40 per cent representation in parliament and not utilising it means that you are unfairly treating the people who elected you. This is an issue that warrants careful consideration when discussing Georgia.”