Opposition holds protest at Parliament
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Thursday, February 6
Opposition political parties and their supporters are holding a protest march near the parliament building. Their unchanged demand is that the 2020 parliamentary elections be held proportionately.
As one of the leaders of the opposition party European Georgia Gigi Ugulava stated, the whole opposition spectrum was united by the demand of proportional electoral system and no such consolidated opposition was around any other issue.
He calls on the authorities to comply with the demands of the opposition and the public to fulfill the promises they have made, otherwise, they will receive permanent protests.
Protesters stood with posters and whistles at the entrances of the Parliament building and made the Shame Corridor to the Georgian Dream lawmakers.
In parallel to the Shame Corridor, in the Parliament, the ruling party MPs were holding a session. The MPs of the ruling party noted that the protest outside of the building of the Parliament did not make them feel uncomfortable.
Irakli Kobakhidze, a former speaker of the Georgian parliament, said that the protests of the opposition parties could not be considered as an indicator of anything. He said that no matter what the ruling party did, they would remain on the streets.
According to Kobakhidze, since 2012, such an attitude of the opposition has not changed, in contrast, the spirit of the majority and the task is to reach some agreement with the political model regarding the electoral model.
“Political statements were made, of course, on the emotional background. However, as to the answer as such, we have not received that answer. Therefore, let's all wait together for an answer,” said Kobakhidze about the ruling party's proposal to hold a mixed election with a proportion of 100/50.
Leaders of the opposition announced that they would be renewing protests. Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, secretary-general of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, says picketing and blocking is a violation and if the opposition continues to do so, the response will be in accordance with the law.
Opposition parties and civil activists have been protesting since November 14, 2019, after the parliament of Georgia failed to adopt a constitutional amendment initiated by the Georgian Dream, which would have resulted in the transition to the proportional system of the 2020 elections.
