Georgian Parliament Speaker: October 4 rally will expose several parties, NGOs as radical extremists

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said the rally announced for October 4 - the local elections day - would mark a moment when several opposition parties, NGOs, and groups would officially reveal themselves as radical extremist organisations.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the protest, Papuashvili argued that the radical opposition has openly signaled intentions of violence.

“The opposition itself is publicly announcing that they intend to engage in violence. It is unfortunate that the spokesperson of the European Commission has expressed support for this violence. If any acts of violence occur by the rally participants tomorrow, the European Commission, through its spokesperson, will bear shared responsibility for everything”, Papuashvili said.

The Speaker explained that while the pre-election process was transparent and competitive, involving 12 political parties, the radical opposition had shifted tactics after failing to undermine the elections.

“As for the anticipated risks of violence, the reason is singular – we see that the radical opposition and foreign-funded NGOs aim to sabotage the elections. They failed to sabotage the elections because 12 parties are participating. The pre-election process was absolutely proper, transparent, and provided every opportunity for campaigning”, he noted.

He claimed that their failure to derail the elections had pushed them toward disruption and hysteria.

“After failing to sabotage the elections, their only option left is to try to disrupt the voting process tomorrow. They will not succeed in this either, as hundreds of thousands of voters will go to the polling stations tomorrow. Their only resort is to stage false hysteria, which poses the greatest danger, as we see what kind of group we are dealing with. This is an emotionally damaged, desperate group of people who may be ready to do anything. It appears that these two generals, who were also members of the National Movement’s political council, are well aware of the desperation and emotional damage within this group and the risk that they might carry out something [violent]”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili underlined that the state was fully mobilised to prevent any violent incidents and accused the opposition of deliberately preparing provocations.

“The state is fully mobilised and will not allow anyone, including these groups, to harm themselves and create hysteria through such actions. This is also a good process; we have not had such an opportunity before. Tomorrow is the moment when several parties, NGOs, and groups will officially be designated as radical extremist groups by all criteria through their own actions”, he concluded.

Former high-ranking Georgian generals Mamuka Kurashvili and Zaza Gogava, who previously served in the United National Movement’s political council, released a joint statement distancing themselves from violent plans and urging participants to avoid provocations.