Georgia's speaker defends election legitimacy amid opposition ban

Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, has asserted that the legitimacy of future elections in Georgia should not be contingent on the participation of the opposition party, Unity - National Movement.

Papuashvili’s remarks follow the ruling Georgian Dream party's recent announcement that the National Movement and its associated formations will be banned from participating in upcoming local government and national elections, citing their activities as unconstitutional, Caliber.Az reports citing Georgian media.

Papuashvili emphasized that elections in Georgia would remain democratic regardless of the National Movement’s absence. "Elections without the National Movement will be the most democratic elections," he stated, adding that the National Movement and its affiliated factions are the entities that are "poisoning democracy and democratic elections today."

The Georgian authorities have long labeled the National Movement and its satellite parties—many of which are successor organizations to the former ruling United National Movement—as "radical opposition." These groups, which entered the parliament following the October 2024 elections, have refused to acknowledge the victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party, opting instead to boycott the new legislature.

Papuashvili further argued that the absence of the National Movement from the political arena would positively impact Georgia’s political landscape. He suggested that the removal of the group and its offshoots would allow smaller, untainted political parties to emerge, thereby fostering fairer competition and more substantive political debate. This, he claimed, would provide Georgian citizens with better choices in future elections.

By sidelining the National Movement, Papuashvili believes Georgia will be able to cultivate a healthier political environment, one free from the influence of parties he describes as having "stained their hands with crimes."

By Vafa Guliyeva