Parliament Speaker urges opposition parties to “distance themselves from large, radical groups”
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday addressed the legislative body. Photo: Parliament press office
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday urged domestic opposition parties to “distance themselves from large, radical groups” on the domestic scene to facilitate the formation of a “healthier political environment” in the country.
In his address to the legislative body, the Parliamentary official called on the “non-radical” parties to “cut ties with the radical groups for a prolonged time and not superficially”, to pave a way to a “constructive dialogue” with authorities.
- Parliament Speaker highlights role of legislative body’s diplomacy in 2022 foreign policy priorities
What is happening now in Georgia is not the polarisation of a political environment, which is already the norm in modern politics, but radicalisation”, he said.
Papuashvili’s remarks came following the announcement by Levan Khabeishvili, the Chair of the United National Movement, the largest opposition party in the country, on Monday of the party’s boycott of the legislative body and “permanent rallies”, in response to a court ruling that denied former President and UNM founder Mikheil Saakashvili release or postponement of his prison term on health grounds.
UNM MPs boycotting the Parliamentary work. They have not requested the cancellation of their mandates so far. Photo: Parliament press office.
Pointing to the empty seats of UNM MPs, Papuashvili claimed “in private conversations we all point out how irrational, illogical and confrontational [the boycott] is”, and called on opposition lawmakers to “call [the boycott] by its name and distance yourselves from it”.
The UNM’s announcement of the boycott and rallies by its newly elected Chair has also triggered controversies within the party, with several of its MPs warning the move could further complicate the situation both for the party and Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year-term for abuse of power while in office, following his arrest in Tbilisi in October 2021.
Responding to UNM’s boycott, ruling Georgian Dream lawmakers have claimed the opposition party had been engaged in “sabotage” since its members took seats in the legislative body in May 2021.
Government members have also pointed to the “positive assessments” from a European Commission report this month on Georgia’s alignment with the European Union framework, and claimed the report had “further intensified” UNM’s “anti-state efforts targeted against Georgia’s EU membership”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday highlighted the work of “Parliamentary diplomacy” in his summary of the work of the legislative body on forming foreign ties throughout the past year.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said it "did not matter" whether the opposition United National Movement party would take part in Parliamentary work, following UNM Chair Levan Khabeishvili's announcement on Monday of the party's boycott of the legislative body.
Announcement of United National Movement, the largest opposition party in the country, to boycott Parliamentary work in response to Tbilisi City Court ruling on the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is a part of the party’s “continuous efforts” to “hamper” Georgia’s European integration process, Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Tuesday.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said Georgia was ahead of both Ukraine and Moldova in “fundamental questions” related to their alignment with the European Union, in comments on the European Commission's new report on the three countries aspiring for EU membership.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said allegations from a part of the domestic opposition about the Government’s “covert relations” with Russia formed a part of a “$1 million propaganda” effort, following revelations of a United States-based law firm having received a sum close to the figure from the family of the imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for lobbying the US Government to help free the convicted former official.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said reproaching the Georgian authorities for decisions that mimicked steps taken by “all international subjects” in protection of their interests was “unfair”, in comments on the Government’s refusal to impose economic sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Monday called on the domestic opposition to remain in the Parliament and take a “constructive” approach on the ongoing work for implementing the European Union conditions for granting the country the membership candidate status.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said it was “unfortunate” that resolutions of the European Parliament had become “sources of misinformation”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday said resolutions of the European Parliament on Georgia had become “sources of misinformation and attacks” on the country in what was a “very unfortunate development”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday said the country’s problem was “radicalisation from certain political groups”, for whom the democratic process was “unacceptable”, and not polarisation, as Georgian society was united around the “basic issues” including the country’s European integration.