Georgian PM: recent parliamentary election “in its significance” equal to “referendum, 2012 vote”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday thanked the voters for “putting trust” in the ruling Georgian Dream party, adding the October 26 parliamentary election was “in its significance equal to a referendum and the 2012 [parliamentary] vote”.

He also claimed the fact that the GD party had received 200,000 more votes in these general elections than in the 2020 vote meant the “Georgian people exactly received the message we were speaking about” during the pre-election campaign.

In his interview with the PosTV channel, Kobakhidze noted this vote was a “decisive election where, among other things, the fate of war and peace was decided”.

The PM affirmed the GD party’s readiness to “defend every single vote” cast in their favour and emphasised the election was held in a “free, unprecedentedly peaceful environment” that was “fair, competitive, and under such conditions, [we] will not allow these political forces [the opposition parties] to carry out any other political processes”. 

The Head of the Government claimed the domestic opposition had “no public support” and “their chances of succeeding in the street [rallies] are zero”, citing the public’s decreased support for the opposition as compared to the 2020 elections.

“In 2020, they [the opposition] achieved some success. It was negotiations conducted under coercion with our participation, followed by the [EU-mediated] April Agreement, which meant temporarily acting outside the constitutional framework. This was a political deal signed under pressure. Now, they lack even the resources to force the Government into such negotiations, much less sign any political agreement that would again move the country out of the constitutional frameworks. Therefore, this year, the opposition doesn’t even have the resources it had four years ago”, the PM added.

The GD party managed to secure 54 percent of the vote in general elections, gaining 89 seats in the Parliament.