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Compiled by Eter Tsotniashvili
Friday, May 30
“Russia rules the opposition”

In an interview with Akhali Taoba, ruling party member Koba Khabazi claimed Russia controls some opposition parties in Georgia:

“There are people in opposition who are ruled by foreign forces. Russia knows a very simple thing: after the parliamentary and presidential elections are over and parliament starts working the country will develop with a Euro-Atlantic orientation,” Khabazi said.

“I can say that some opposition parties are controlled by Russia, but I can’t say that about all of them. I remember in 1991 when [former president Eduard] Shevardnadze and his associates were ruled by Russia,” he added



“United Opposition shoots movie about election”

Representatives of the United Opposition, an eight-party coalition, say they will air a documentary showing violations in the recent parliamentary elections on the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) reports Sakartvelos Respublika:

Coalition representative Manana Nachkebia and majoritarian candidate for Kobuleti Mirza Suknishvili held a press briefing at the United Opposition office.

Nachkebia said the coalition has compiled a lot of evidence showing how the election was rigged.

“With this evidence we are preparing a documentary movie that will be aired by GPB. The film will be ready in two to three days,” she said, adding that some of the evidence is photographic.

“On Vaja Pshavela Avenue our youth activists found ballot papers from Dmanisi and Ninotsminda. An activist who was walking along the avenue saw how some people burnt these…” she said.

Suknishvili said nothing like this had happened before in Kobuleti.

“The elections were held in an atmosphere of terror. I found many rigged ballot papers on the 15 district of Kobuleti.”



“The date of gathering alternative parliament is unknown”

The exact date the United Opposition’s planned alternative parliament will convene is not yet known, according to Sakartvelos Respublika:

United Opposition member Manana Nachkebia said it has only been confirmed that the alternative parliament will function in the office of the New Rights Party.

“We don’t know an exact day yet. It depends on developing events. If we force [President Mikheil] Saakashvili and his parliament to cancel the first session on June 9–10 and force them to call new elections, obviously we would not need an alternative parliament,” Nachkebia said.