“Those who try to blackmail democracy and the Georgian population will always receive a fair, constitutional, legal response to this,” stated the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili.

Papuashvili made this statement after Parliament prematurely terminated the parliamentary mandates of 49 members from three opposition alliances upon their written request.

“It has become clear that in 2020, a false narrative orchestrated by some allied NGOs, and later revealed to be backed by foreign organizations, laid the groundwork for a concerning trend. For not one single year following the 2020 elections and for the next three years, despite being represented in Parliament, they attended fewer than half of the sessions. In fact, their absence was often deliberate, either through boycott or simple inaction.

After the 2020 elections, the parliamentary majority gave them a chance to serve their constituents’ interests, but this opportunity was twisted into a precedent by the radical opposition. Now, following the 2024 elections, we’re witnessing the same attempt to invalidate people’s will and deny the outcome. The same methods are being employed, including the rejection of election mandates.

As the representative of the Georgian people, we cannot allow the Georgian Constitution and democracy to be undermined, nor can we permit the radical opposition to disregard the people’s will with the support of its internal or external patrons,” Shalva Papuashvili stated at the plenary session.

“In 2020, with a false narrative, which later turned out to be organized and supported by some of their allied NGOs, turned out to be organized and supported by some foreign organizations, it became clear that both for one year after the 2020 elections and for the next three years, despite entering parliament, they missed more than half of the sessions, sometimes through boycott and sometimes just by absence. They actually haven’t worked in Parliament for a single day.

After the 2020 elections, the parliamentary majority gave them a chance to represent their voters’ will, this led to the radical opposition trying to turn this into a precedent. After the 2024 elections, we see exactly the same attempt to cancel elections and deny people’s will. We see the same methods, including the rejection of mandates.

Of course, on behalf of the Georgian people, we cannot allow the Georgian Constitution and democracy to be ignored and the radical opposition to try to trample the people’s will through its internal or external patrons,” Shalva Papuashvili stated at the plenary session.