Members of the For Georgia party, founded by former Prime Minister from Georgian Dream Party (2019-2021) Giorgi Gakharia, plan to take up their parliamentary mandates.
The announcement was made today, October 20, by party member Giorgi Sharashidze during a briefing.
According to him, refusing to use the parliamentary and municipal platforms – especially in this difficult period – is not only a mistake but a crime before the country and its people.
As the party stated, the boycott of Parliament and the renunciation of mandates did not stop the “Georgian Dream” machinery of repression and failed to prevent harmful decisions for the country.
“The parliamentary boycott, which evolved into a boycott of the entire political process, effectively erased the opposition from the political arena. As a result, Georgian Dream was able to act swiftly and without any resistance, deepening authoritarianism, which ultimately led to the provocation of October 4.
We do not blame anyone but ourselves. A year ago, we failed to convince society and the political spectrum that giving up parliamentary mandates was a mistake. This set off a chain of events that brought us to today’s difficult situation. But now, we refuse to remain prisoners of our own mistakes or illusions and to deceive ourselves (…).
We are beginning the process of returning all political tools and platforms – meant to serve the people – back into the service of the people. Representative institutions in Georgia – both municipal councils and the national Parliament – do not belong to Georgian Dream, they belong solely to the Georgian people,” Giorgi Sharashidze said.
According to the official results of the 2024 parliamentary elections, For Georgia party won 12 seats. However, since its members refused to take up mandates in the Parliament, the Georgian Dream’s Parliament revoked their mandates due to prolonged absence and recognized their replacements.
Specifically, Georgian Dream confirmed the mandates of Gela Abuladze, Jemal Ananidze, Ketevan Bakaradze, Rusudan Tevzadze, Malkhaz Toria, Shalva Kereselidze, Salome Kobaladze, Giga Parulava, Vika Philphani, Giorgi Sharashidze, Tamar Khvedeliani, and Sopio Khorguani.
The opposition parties that crossed the electoral threshold have not recognized the 2024 election results. They refused to take up their parliamentary seats and withdrew their electoral lists. Unlike the others, however, For Georgia did not withdraw its list.
