Opposition in Georgia exists virtually, Parliament Speaker says

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said that the opposition has no power in the country and exists virtually.

Representatives of opposition parties earlier announced a boycott of the work of the parliament and refused to give up their parliamentary mandates. They believe that the elections held in the fall of 2024 were rigged. The opposition also refuses to take part in the local government elections planned for this fall.

“The opposition essentially exists virtually today. In reality, it has no form, no content, and no strength. Today the court sentenced (former Georgian President) Mikheil Saakashvili to nine years in prison, which means he will have to stay in jail until 2030. They (oppositionists) made a couple of remarks and that's it, they have no more energy. The only thing that revitalizes the opposition today is artificial respiration from outside,” Papuashvili said in an interview with Rustavi 2 TV company.

The Tbilisi City Court on Wednesday sentenced Saakashvili to nine years in prison in the case of embezzlement of state funds. In total, the former president will have to serve his sentence until 2030.

Reprinted from https://ria.ru/