European parliamentarians urge Georgians to “fight for European future” at Tbilisi opposition rally

A delegation of European parliamentarians on Monday addressed demonstrators in Tbilisi, urging them to “fight against the stolen votes” in last month’s parliamentary elections and “uphold Georgia’s European future” amidst allegations by the domestic opposition of vote-rigging and fraud.

The foreign MPs joined the opposition rally in central Tbilisi after officials of the ruling Georgian Dream party and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili had declined to meet with them earlier in the day and accused “certain delegation members” of exhibiting “political bias for the radical opposition” and “attempting to sow chaos in the name of the European Union”. 

The delegation included European MPs such as Estonia's Marko Mihkelson, Finland's Jukka Kopra, France's Frédéric Petit, Germany's Michael Roth, Latvia's Ināra Mūrniece, Lithuania's Žygimantas Pavilionis, Poland's Michał Kamiński, and Sweden's Erik Ottosson.

In his speech, Kopra highlighted the delegation's presence as a “show of support for Georgia’s democratic and European path”, saying “it is never too late to fight for your goals”.

Ottosson warned of the “subtleties of Russian influence”, claiming “Russian aggression is not only about tanks and shells, it creeps in through the back door. But Georgia is not too late  - it will never be too late as long as the fight for democracy continues. When you fight for democracy, democracy endures. Never give up”.

In his address, Pavilionis urged Georgians to “fight for your place in the EU and NATO”, adding “there is no [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán way to join the bloc. There is no Russian dream, there is only a European dream, and you are part of this Europe”.

Meanwhile, Roth dismissed the GD’s accusations of foreign interference, asserting the delegation’s meetings with officials and presence at the rally had signified a “shared future in the EU”. 

Responding to the visit, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the GD officials had avoided meeting the delegation “because certain members were directly involved in the election campaign and grossly violated electoral principles”.

GD MP Irakli Zarkua criticised the visiting lawmakers, urging them to “go back and tend to their own countries’ issues”. 

Kakha Kaladze, the GD Secretary General, similarly dismissed their statements, calling the MPs “idle individuals drifting from one country to another”. 

In contrast, opposition leaders praised the European parliamentarians as “true friends” of Georgia and “dedicated supporters” of the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.