Georgian Parliament official: October 1 ensured Georgia’s security and strengthened country

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, said on Wednesday that the core significance of October 1 lay in strengthening the country and ensuring its security, which would ultimately lead Georgia toward its “true dream” of territorial integrity.

Speaking on the 14th anniversary of the Georgian Dream party’s rise to power, Ionatamishvili said the importance of October 1 had become even more evident over time.

“Fourteen years later, the significance of October 1 for Georgia is even clearer. Had Bidzina Ivanishvili not assumed responsibility for his homeland, and had the Georgian people not stood by him and made the right choice, the government of that time would have led our country down a completely different path - a path of war, severe confrontation, and national destruction”, Ionatamishvili said.

“The core value of October 1 is precisely this: that our country becomes stronger, its security is ensured, and, of course, that all of this ultimately leads us to our true dream - territorial integrity”, he added.

Today marks 14 years since the ruling Georgian Dream party came to power. In the parliamentary elections held on October 1, 2012, the Georgian Dream coalition, led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, won 54.97 percent of the vote and defeated the then-ruling United National Movement.