Opposition leader slams ex-PM Gakharia’s party decision to enter Parliament, calling it ‘circus’

Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, has criticized former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s party for its decision to end its parliamentary boycott and enter the legislature.

In a letter released from prison on Wednesday, Japaridze said the move was entirely predictable and reflected a desperate attempt by Gakharia’s allies to “save” their political standing after what he described as the “October 4 Russian circus.”

“Nothing about this step is surprising. After their disgrace in the October 4 circus, this is their only imagined salvation,” Japaridze wrote. “But it won’t save them - it’s just the last use of Gakharia’s already-vanished rating by a handful of people chasing after twelve parliamentary seats.”

Japaridze argued that the group would “disappear just like Mezvrishvili, Liluashvili, Kemoklidze, Daushvili and others,” former allies who, he said, vanished from politics once the prospect of parliamentary seats was gone.

He added that the broader struggle against the ruling party remained unchanged.

“There’s nothing to worry about - our fight goes on. The only thing we can do is stop giving media attention to their meaningless daily briefings staged in front of that 25-number banner,” he wrote.

Japaridze concluded his letter with a mocking reference to Gakharia’s past slogan, saying he only “missed hearing the promise to ‘set Parliament on fire.’”

Meanwhile, Giorgi Gakharia’s party, For Georgia, confirmed that it will enter Parliament, arguing that the boycott has failed to achieve results.