UNM opposition party leader: no opposition party will enter country’s Parliament after “totally rigged elections”

Tina Bokuchava, the Chair of the Unity - National Movement platform, on Friday told local media “no opposition parties” would enter the Georgian Parliament following “totally rigged elections” held on Saturday.

In her comments, following a meeting between the leaders of Georgia’s domestic opposition parties and representatives of the diplomatic corps that discussed electoral violations, Bokuchava stated the opposition presented evidence of electoral fraud to the diplomats.

One of the main purposes of today's meeting was to show the evidence of forgery we have gathered over the past few days. We confirmed the unity among opposition parties, which is crucial for our positioning both domestically and internationally”, Bokuchava said.

She also said the protests against the Government would be a “key part” of the opposition’s strategy.

Zurab Girchi Japaridze, the Girchi - More Freedom opposition party leader, said the meeting with diplomats also discussed plans for an international investigation and upcoming protests announced by the opposition for Monday.

Japaridze noted there would be public demonstrations and that strategies would evolve based on ongoing developments, by saying “We will make decisions continuously, every other day, as the situation unfolds”.

Strong Georgia coalition on Friday said meeting included ambassadors from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Israel, as well as other diplomatic representatives, with the opposition leaders providing evidence of the alleged electoral misconduct, including violations of election secrecy, bribery, intimidation, confiscation of ID cards, and voting on behalf of individuals abroad.