On 5 January, the speaker of the Georgian parliament Archil Talakvadze welcomed the three new Alliance of Patriots members for attending the parliamentary sittings after Irma Inashvili, Giorgi Lomia and Gocha Tevdoradze renounced their mandates (Caucasus Watch reported). 

The four Alliance of Patriots members who entered parliament, namely  Avtandil Enukidze, Zaza Mikadze, Fridon Injia and David Zilpimiani, also announced that they would leave their respective party and form the European Socialist Union in the coming days. “The country is facing the most difficult challenges today. The pandemic created a severe economic crisis and complicated the already difficult social situation of our citizens. In this context, political stability is crucial to overcoming economic and social problems,” Injia said. According to him, all political forces should unite around common national goals reflected in the Constitution of Georgia. Injia also underlined that no one in Georgia could present evidence that any voter was forced to go to the ballot box by or signing the protocol in the same way. He stated that everyone voted of their own free will. 

The representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party welcomed this move from Injia and the other (former) Alliance of Patriots members. “It is important that the opposition party has entered parliament. It is essential that pro-Russian members of the Alliance of Patriots renounced their mandates and the openly pro-Russian party will not be represented at the parliament,” stated the GD Executive Secretary Irakli Kobahidze. He added that the calls of international partners would be further intensified, and eventually, more opposition party members would enter the parliament. Kobahidze also said that no snap elections would be called in the country.

The other opposition forces in the country denounced this political move. “It is natural that the political reality will not change with several wealthy MPs from the Alliance of Patriots within the parliament. Unity is very important for the opposition parties because not entering the parliament is a voters’ request. Voters were stripped of their elections, so the loss of this right for a voter goes beyond the threshold of entering or not entering the parliament. Our demands would be the release of political prisoners and holding snap parliamentary elections. If these demands are met, we could participate in parliamentary political processes,” stated Levan Bezhashvili from the United National Movement.

“I do not think that the entry of Eduard Shevardnadze’s rule of corrupt officials in the parliament would be a big victory for the Georgian Dream. This means nothing to us, and nothing will change if several members of the Alliance of Patriots join the parliament individually. The Alliance of Patriots itself separated from these people. It does not mean much for us, especially when this party did not participate in the opposition rallies and activities. The entry of these people will not legitimise the parliament and will not create the facade of a multiparty system,” said Sergo Chikhladze from Strategy Aghmashenebeli.