“From start to finish, October 4 was a provocation orchestrated by reckless politicians, resulting in 18 new prisoners,” Giorgi Sharashidze, a member of the Political Council of the Gakharia for Georgia party, described October 4 as a provocation orchestrated entirely by irresponsible politicians.

Sharashidze criticised politicians who called on supporters to participate in what they termed a peaceful overthrow.

“They left civilians alone in front of the special forces. I won’t delve into details, but October 4 was a clear provocation. These irresponsible politicians abandoned innocent people in front of the riot police, taking advantage of their sincere emotions. Instead of taking responsibility themselves, they blamed these citizens, and none of them even offered an apology. They not only failed to accept political accountability before the young people who are now facing heavy sentences and potentially years in prison, but they also disappeared. Where are they now? You can’t even find them if you look,” Gakharia’s party member stated.

Sharashidze continued, “These same politicians have been parroting for months, urging everyone to participate in a so-called peaceful overthrow. Ultimately, they turned peaceful citizens into targets of the riot police, abandoned them, and legitimised the actions of Georgian Dream to capture them.”

He emphasised that now is not the time for petty political calculations. “Both ‘Dream’ and these irresponsible politicians, who are secretly allied, are causing our country to suffer,” Sharashidze said.

Sharashidze also touched upon the 2025 municipal elections. He pointed out that the political climate during the parliamentary elections was vastly different.

“You cannot compare what was then to now. Back then, the Georgian Dream was much weaker, and the protest was far stronger. We achieved this because the political process was still alive. Instead of continuing and strengthening the peaceful protests, applying pressure on Georgian Dream without killing the political process, we ended up with a dead political landscape; and we take responsibility for that,” he explained.

Regarding the potential meeting of the Gakharia for Georgia’s political council to discuss parliamentary entry, Sharashidze said, “Everything needs careful analysis. We acknowledge that boycotting parliament was a mistake. But that doesn’t mean the only solution is for us to enter. We need to scrutinise everything thoroughly. Until we identify and call things by their proper names, recognising mistakes, crimes, and guilt, it’s premature to make any concrete political decisions.

The council will meet to discuss this, but our priority now is a comprehensive assessment. If we don’t distinguish between errors and crimes, and don’t recognise the seriousness of the issues, taking new political steps would be premature,” Sharashidze concluded.