Parliament Vice-Speaker slams opposition leader for “urging foreign partners” to lead “post-election revolutionary scenario"

Gia Volski, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday accused Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the Ahali opposition party, of encouraging unrest in Georgia following the October 26 general elections and urging the country’s foreign partners to "lead" a "revolutionary process”. 

Gvaramia, a former official in the United National Movement Government and former head of opposition-leaning TV channels, claimed on Sunday the country’s election administration was planning to “rig the elections”, accusing the Central Election Commission of having "consistently lied" in the past.

Who cares what the CEC announces? It lies constantly. What truly matters is what the people feel. Georgian Dream lost the elections in 2020, but the margin was very slim. The West was unprepared - indeed, poorly prepared - and Western evaluations at the time could not stand up to scrutiny. This is no longer the case. Now, Western ambassadors are waiting to issue sharp statements should any falsification occur”, Gvaramia told the press.

In response, Volski interpreted Gvaramia’s remarks as a “direct call” to both his supporters and international allies to prepare for potential street protests after the elections. He accused Gvaramia of aiming to “incite revolutionary activities” under the leadership of Georgia's foreign partners.

At the same time, this is a clear appeal to our international partners to lead these revolutionary efforts. Unfortunately, we have seen similar instances recently, such as when Baltic [states’] foreign ministers encouraged youth to engage in movements resembling the Maidan [in Ukraine in 2014]. Our partners must carefully consider the statements made by this political group that calls itself 'new' yet actively campaigns against the state”, Volski said.

Gvaramia, along with former UNM Chair Nika Melia, co-founded the Ahali opposition party in March. Three opposition parties - Ahali, Girchi-More Freedom, and Droa - recently formed Coalition for Change and presented a joint election list for the upcoming vote.