On 11 December, the 10th convocation of Georgia’s parliament took place without any opposition parliamentarians present.

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili opened the session by stating that the country was tired of the political tensions that have been taking place since the 31 October election results. “We are tired of running in the same circle! Tired of attempts to direct the processes from the street, of threats and destabilisation instead of dialogue! Today the country has different needs,” she stated.

“We are tired of the continued battle between the two political poles: Zvidists and anti-Zviadists, those for Shevardnadze and those against Shevardnadze, and it keeps going to this day, at a time when depolarisation, solidarity and unity are what the country needs. We are tired of continuous swearing, insults and disregard of Caucasian politeness! Hatred leaves the country divided, unprotected and weakened at a time when it needs mobilisation of national energies to tackle challenges the most,” she added.

“What Georgia needs is depolarisation, solidarity and unity,” Zourabichvili emphasised. She noted that what the country needs are new approaches to the key political challenges in Georgia, namely: 1) a new approach for rapprochement with the Abkhaz and Ossetian populations living in Georgia’s separatist regions; 2) a new approach in the Caucasus and the potential creation of a “Caucasian Peace Platform;” 3) a more active bilateral approach with the EU and NATO; 4) the need for a development strategy following the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic; 5) strengthening local governments in the country; 6) better state funding in cultural projects in Georgia; and 7) a new paradigm for Georgia’s economy. 

Prior to the parliament session, five opposition parties (United National Movement, European Georgia, Lelo, Strategy Agmashenebeli and Labour party) submitted a request to Georgia’s Central Election Commission asking for their party lists to be annulled. The five parties (who should have taken up 50 seats in the new parliament) also signed a memorandum in which they said that they are demanding repeat elections and refuse to take up their mandates. 

The EU and US embassies in Georgia released a statement, saying that they “regret that it was not possible to reach a broad-based agreement before the first convocation of the new parliament, despite the party leaders’ efforts.” “The dialogue has covered complicated, substantive issues, and the parties have approached them with a sense of duty to their country’s democratic future. This kind of open, respectful debate is essential as Georgia moves toward a more pluralistic political landscape representing more diverse views and interests. With a continued focus on the country’s best interests, we believe the parties can still succeed in bridging the outstanding divisions. We now call on all sides to carefully consider how to move forward toward an agreement that will allow the Parliament to assume its full and vital role to uphold and strengthen Georgia’s democracy, economy, and security,” the statement emphasised.

To note, the fifth round of negotiations between Georgian Dream and eight opposition parties, initially scheduled for 10 December was postponed after the ruling party’s Executive Secretary Irakli Kobakhidze accused the “radical opposition” of jeopardising negotiations and then threatened to deregister UNM as a political party. Kobakhidze argued that UNM, who led the country from 2004–2012, was still run by ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. This, he said, was in violation of Georgian laws as Saakashvili was a Ukrainian citizen and had also been sentenced in absentia by Georgian courts for abuse of power.