Rallies continue in Georgia, as opposition meets with the ruling party

By Nika Gamtsemlidze

Monday, November 16

The meeting between the two sides was held at the US Ambassador’s residence

The meeting was attended by the US Ambassador Kelly Degnan and EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell

The second meeting of the representatives of the Georgian Dream and opposition was held at the residence of the Ambassador of the United States to Georgia Kelly Degnan. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia Carl Hartzell.

The first meeting was held on November 12, the second one- on Saturday, November 14. The dialogue participants haven't shared the details but stated the dialogue would continue.

The leader of Girchi Zurab Japaridze said that the conversation did not have any particular outcome and the positions of the sides are still very different. Japaridze said the opposition is standing its ground and demands snap elections.

Archil Talakvadze, a Georgian Dream representative, confirmed that the dialogue will continue. He stated that this time around, there is more chance for stability in the country. He also called on the opposition parties to join the Parliament and 'use this opportunity.'

On Saturday, opposition representatives, their supporters, activists, and others gathered in front of the Parliament to protest the published election results. The representatives of the opposition once again stated that they refuse to join the Parliament unless the government agrees to snap elections.

One of the leaders of the European Georgia Davit Bakradze said that rigged elections would not guarantee the future development of the country in the right direction, which is why it is so important to have snap elections. He once again said that the opposition would not join the Parliament.

However, both sides are talking about the importance of dialogue in this situation. The opposition representatives state that holding snap elections is crucial for Georgia. The Georgian Dream disagrees and says there won't be any snap elections.

The parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 31. As the Election Administration of Georgia reported, the Georgian Dream party got 48 percent of the votes in the election, the UNM got 28 percent. A total of 9 political parties managed to get more than 1% of the votes, which is needed to be part of the Parliament.