Opposition announces large-scale rally against ruling party on May 15

Georgian opposition politicians, who plan to travel to the regions to meet with the public, have announced they will gather in front of the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on May 15. 

Opposition politicians released a joint statement after the EU-mediated talks with the ruling Georgian Dream party ended without a result.  

• EU-mediated talks between Georgian political parties end without result

United National Movement party member Zaal Udumashvili said the opposition will visit every town and village, meet with people and hold rallies there, ahead of the final gathering in Tbilisi in mid-May. 

The opposition is moving to a non-stop mode of rallies, which will lead to eventual victory aimed to bring the positive changes in favour of our country”, he said.

Claiming that the EU-mediated talks in Tbilisi ended without a result because of the Georgian Dream’s ‘destructive and anti-state’ actions, Udumashvili said the ruling party has thus ‘closed a door to Europe.’ 

Ruling party leaders, who are holding a political council meeting today, instead claim that the opposition has raised ‘two ultimatums which were absolutely illegitimate, against justice and against state interests'. Photo: EU Delegation to Georgia/Twitter

Opposition politicians who have won seats in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament last autumn demand repeat elections be held and political prisoners released.

Accusing the ruling party of falsifying the elections, most of them refuse to take up their mandates and took to the street in November 2020. 

Foreign ambassadors have facilitated four rounds of talks since then between the ruling party and the opposition to help the parties end the tension. However, the talks ended without the result.

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The dialogue resumed during the recent visit of the European Council President Charles Michel to Georgia on March 1.

Michel later mandated Christian Danielsson to lead a EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia to help the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition come to an agreement amid the current political deadlock. 

Danielsson, who arrived in Georgia on March 12 has held a number of meetings with the Georgian Dream and opposition parties since them but he left Georgie yesterday after the parties failed to reach an agreement.