Georgian Parliament Speaker: commendable that one party, though delayed, has recognised people’s will and joined Parliament

Members of the opposition Gakharia - For Georgia party on Tuesday attended a plenary session of the Parliament and officially began exercising their parliamentary mandates. Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili welcomed the development during the session, describing it as an important and positive step.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that “this is a lesson that the Parliament of Georgia, across many convocations, has experienced repeatedly”.

“In 2016, there was an attempt not to recognise the election results, but in the end, everyone had to accept the people’s will and begin parliamentary work. We saw similar attempts in 2020, when some took half a year, others a full year, to realise that they could not escape the will of the people - and eventually resumed their mandates. In 2024, we witnessed the same attempt again - to turn away from reality and from the people’s choice. It is therefore commendable that, even though delayed, after a year one political party has now recognised the will of the people, accepted democracy, and begun fulfilling its parliamentary responsibilities”, the Speaker said.

Papuashvili also expressed regret that some parties had “burned their bridges”, thereby depriving themselves and, more importantly, their voters of representation in the Parliament.

“It is unfortunate that some political parties destroyed the bridges that could have brought them back to parliamentary life. Perhaps today they would very much like to be here, but they themselves deprived both their voters and themselves of that opportunity - to have their voices heard in Parliament”, he continued.

“Therefore, I welcome our colleagues who have joined parliamentary work today. In front of you, along with the documentation, there is the oath of a Member of Parliament, which you are taking belatedly; however, as the saying goes, better late than never. So, I ask you to sign this oath, and I wish you to faithfully fulfill your parliamentary duties in accordance with it”, the Speaker concluded.