Ruling party Sec Gen says domestic opposition has no resources to participate in local elections

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday responded to an open letter from the Central Election Commission addressed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, asserting that allegations of election fraud in Georgia were unfounded and purely speculative.

“There is no fact that the elections were rigged, and accordingly, the opposition failed to present the appropriate evidence to the Prosecutor's Office. These were political speculations. Throughout the entire election campaign, they did not go out, did not meet citizens, went to cafes, drank hot coffee and tea, and received the corresponding outcome. They first convinced the people that they had won, and then it turned out that they had lost”, the Secretary General said.

He further added that not only the domestic radicals, but also those European bureaucrats who were fighting against the country by discrediting the elections had been defeated in the parliamentary elections.

Kaladze also made the comment regarding the opposition’s participation in the local elections scheduled for October, claiming that the opposition did not have the right to decide whether they would participate in the elections as they waited for instructions from outside, from their patrons, and would do whatever they would be told to do.

“Today, [the opposition] may say that they are not participating, but as soon as the order comes tomorrow that they must get involved, they will certainly change their attitude and participate”, he said.

He further claimed that the issue of European integration, and currently the issue of visa liberalisation, was being used from the outside to create tension in the country and to incite domestic radical groups.

“Believe me, they will not succeed. I am sure that every Georgian who loves their homeland is proud of the fact that today no one dares to give instructions to the Government in a commanding tone”, Kaladze concluded.