Georgian Parliament Speaker says opposition's election participation irrelevant to legitimacy

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the domestic opposition’s participation or non-participation in the local elections scheduled for October had absolutely no impact on the legitimacy of the elections.

In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili noted that it would be better if the radical opposition did not participate in the elections, as this would finally reset the political landscape in Georgia.

“I urge them, along with their foreign backers, to take this path and refrain from participating. One radical politician, former President Zourabichvili, will visit the Baltic states in the coming days, and hopefully, her patrons will also advise her against participating in the elections, as extremism must be eradicated in Georgia. The extremist political agenda must end, along with parties that serve foreign interests”, the Speaker said.

Regarding the non-parliamentary opposition, Papuashvili asserted that a democratic party exists to participate in elections, measure its support among the public, and obtain a mandate of governance.

“When a party refuses to participate in elections, it is essentially declaring that it is not a democratic party but an extremist one. Therefore, anyone who says they will not participate, or encourages others to abstain, is in fact an enemy of democracy and a supporter of extremist movements”, he concluded.