Parliament Speaker: Georgian people have spoken, chosen Georgian Dream party in elections

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday extended his greetings to fellow citizens both within the country and outside at the first session of the newly elected Parliament.

“I greet our compatriots in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region, and I will repeat the words that I spoke three years ago, when I was elected Chairman of Parliament: This Parliament will only be complete when representatives elected from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region sit in this hall with us.

One month ago, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. In these elections, the Georgian people expressed their free, direct, and firm will regarding whom they entrusted with the reins of power for the next four years.

We, the Georgian Dream, received the trust of the voters for the fourth consecutive time, securing a full majority in the 11th convocation of Parliament. I would like to thank the Georgian people who, once again, wisely assessed the situation, did not allow themselves to be deceived, and supported the team whose primary concern is Georgia and each of its citizens.

I would like to extend special thanks to the experienced and battle-hardened team of the Georgian Dream for the trust they demonstrated by nominating me for the position of Chairman of Parliament, and I promise that just as in the 10th convocation of Parliament, my thoughts and actions will remain steadfastly dedicated to serving the interests of the Georgian people.

I mentioned a battle and, first and foremost, I want to highlight the truly unequal battle in which we engaged during these elections, emerging victorious in the end. In terms of intensity, drama, and voter engagement, the 2024 elections were no less significant than the outcome of 2012. In some respects, these elections proved to be even more important.

After the conclusion of the process, we are gradually coming to fully appreciate the significance of the victory we achieved – a victory that bolstered and preserved all the progress made over the past 12 years. This achievement serves as a solid foundation upon which the future of our country and our children must be built.

We have seen that groups with fundamentally different perspectives on Georgia's future still exist within the country. Political forces seeking revenge and a return to the past remain in the country. In this regard, the convicted former president, along with his destructive followers, has been particularly active. Once again, they have suffered what is truly their final defeat this time. Revenge has not succeeded in Georgia, and it never will – neither by figures condemned by the people and history, nor by the transformed subjects nurtured under their wing.

Most importantly, as long as the Georgian Dream stands firm, Georgia will not witness the rampaging of parties created under various names and titles, composed of people standing on one leg and controlled by external forces. In these elections, we stood against precisely such externally driven, coordinated, and unified efforts. For this reason, this has been and remains a battle between David and Goliath, where truth, prudence, and love for the homeland triumphed – because we stand on the side of God, the homeland, and the people.

Neither in the current, complex geopolitical context nor in our historical past has foreign interference been a novelty for us. Every country, be it a neighbor or a distant state, pursues its own interests. The larger the country, and the more resources and capabilities it has, the stronger and more effective its influence becomes. However, both historically and in the present, the enemy within is the most effective force. The greatest threats come from the inside. This is precisely why foreign powers seek internal support to gain influence.

In the modern world, both the scope and tools of influence are diverse and sophisticated. Contemporary knowledge technologies often ensure that those under foreign influence may not even realize who or what they truly serve. This is further facilitated by false values and stereotypes that are deliberately instilled. Fetishized and hollowed-out ideals drive people toward thoughtless and unconsidered actions, blinding them to anything beyond their immediate surroundings. Such individuals struggle to comprehend the interests of the state, its essence, policies, and long-term plans.

Alongside those unknowingly serving as conduits of influence, there are also individuals who consciously and deliberately serve foreign interests. Their homeland lies elsewhere, their identity is foreign and sterile. Their understanding is shallow, and their nature is limited. These individuals serve as the most reliable support for external forces.

The limited perspective, lack of depth in thinking, and excessive emotionality of some Georgians have been costly factors in realizing the right goals throughout our nation’s history. Fate has often dictated that Georgians must pay a high price for every step forward. It is regrettable that some fail to learn even from their own experiences. Yet, wisdom and reason are precisely the exceptional qualities that our ancestors valued.

The dream and aspiration passed down by our closest ancestors is encapsulated in a single phrase: "Let us stand on our own." This call by Ilia Chavchavadze echoes from the nineteenth century to the present day. The embodiment of this maxim takes on different forms and meanings in every era, depending on how independence and freedom are understood by the leaders and generations of the time. Walking effectively on the path of freedom and independence is at the core of the nation's interests. Instead of reflecting on the legacy of our ancestors and learning from their experiences, today we face the thoughtless “wisdom” casually thrown out by some of our contemporaries. "If a foreign power commands it, you must stand on one leg" – this mindset is shared by many within the radical opposition. Bewitched by the false allure of foreign influence, these opponents disregard their own faith, dismiss the legacy of their ancestors, and passionately idolize everything foreign.

This is precisely why they neither consider nor understand what aligns with their national interest and what serves the interests of others. For them, the world is not divided into us and them, ours and theirs. Instead, they naively assess modern politics through simplistic categories of good and bad. This is why our greatest enemy is, first and foremost, immaturity and infantilism – consequences of which we have repeatedly experienced firsthand.

Fortunately, the time has come in Georgia for deeper thought, reflection, foresight, greater wisdom, prudence, and insight.

Thirty-five years ago, Georgia began the process of separating from the Soviet Union. The path to liberation from the dying empire turned out to be different for all fifteen republics. Some were the first to act, while others came later. This complex cataclysm left some unscathed, buried others under its ruins, and demanded an especially high price from a few. Georgia paid a steep price for its freedom. That is why our hard-won achievements require special care and protection.

This year, we celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the declaration of independence, achieved as a result of a referendum held across the entire territory of the country. On this historic day, the Georgian people expressed their supreme will to be independent, sovereign, and free. Shortly after the referendum, we gained our freedom, sovereignty, and began the challenging and thorny path of implementing independence. On this journey toward our Golgotha, we faced numerous setbacks, stumbled, and endured hardships, yet, for better or worse, we have made it to this day.

The parliamentary elections of 26 October were effectively held in the form of a de facto referendum. The Georgian people faced a clear choice about which future to support: recklessness or wisdom, infantilism or maturity, foreign identity or traditional values, subservience or independence.

The people have spoken and chosen the Georgian Dream. They granted us their supreme legitimacy, and that is why I stand here before you, armed with truth and fully aware of my mission to serve the homeland, our country, a united Georgia.

I stand here to serve our national interest alongside you. Our national interest is simple – we must reunite our homeland and develop our country. Prosperity must reach every family. This is our Georgian Dream: a united, strong, and independent Georgia.

Friends, The world changed on 24 February 2022. Europe – and, naturally, Georgia as well – witnessed a war of unprecedented scale since World War II. This ongoing war has its hotspots, frontlines, and zones of active conflict, as well as its broader spheres of impact. Georgia is one of the most vulnerable territories within this sphere. Amid this challenging situation, Georgia's Parliament and government demonstrated wisdom, foresight, and prudence to adopt the only correct and resolute position dictated by our country's national interest.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing war, the country has maintained its geopolitical vector, continued the process of European integration, and as a result, we were granted candidate status. The country has preserved peace and, as a result, has not become a participant in this war. The country rejected bilateral sanctions, and as a result, we have maintained the dynamics of economic development.

The ruling team firmly resisted the provocations and traps into which certain relentless friends tried to push us. Armed with this experience, these results, and this example, the team approached the elections. The seasoned and now experienced Georgian people, with their clear majority, recognized this and placed a democratic seal of approval on this policy with their vote.
Friends,

The Georgian Dream approached these elections after completing a challenging four-year cycle. I would like to briefly reflect on this process.

In the 2020 parliamentary elections, the Georgian Dream secured a victory against yet another attempt at revanchism. Even then, certain nongovernmental organizations with political agendas became the primary lifeline of the radical opposition. Their falsified and concealed parallel vote counts and assessments shook the country for forty days. Opposition parties flooded Rustaveli Avenue with yet another attempt at revolution and chaos. Using entirely fabricated and contrived pretexts, they succeeded in creating a political crisis.

Under such conditions, we faced the 2021 local self-government elections, where a new trap awaited us. You all remember the former president, smuggled into the country in a sour cream container as part of a foreign special operation, secretly arriving in Tbilisi on election night to overturn the results and disrupt the elections. The vigilance of law enforcement agencies and the firmness of our team thwarted this scenario as well.

In early spring 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine, and the situation changed entirely. That such an event was likely had been evident months earlier, and the ruling team was prepared for this turn of events. This is why we demonstrated the firmness and principled stance I have already mentioned. It became most evident then that a clear distinction existed between our national interest and the interests of others, which the pseudo-patriotic fifth column immediately supported. We remember calls to outdo Ukrainians in their own cause, sending volunteers on flights, supplying weapons, imposing sanctions, and other destructive actions that would have made Georgia a part of the war.

The attempts to destabilize the country did not end, with new pretexts constantly emerging. At times, they sought to stir public unrest over candidate status, at other times through the idea of opening negotiations, the "transparency law," and finally by discussing elections as a form of referendum.

The Georgian Dream accepted the challenge of the referendum. We stated that the main challenge in the world today is war, while the primary focus of our efforts is peace. We presented the achievements of the past years, outlined our vision for the future, our plan, and the goals to be achieved. The people trusted us. Thank you to our voters.

Thank you to our voters, and full condemnation of those opposition parties that treated their own voters so disrespectfully and irresponsibly. Our citizens were deceived, manipulated, and fed lies as truth, while fair elections were branded as fraudulent, playing on their emotions. Instead of representing their voters' interests with dignity in this hall, they continue to destabilize, spread falsehoods, and act against the interests of the country.

We must remember that their voters are also our citizens, and it is our duty to win them back. It is our sacred obligation to reveal the truth to them, to expose the irrational and deceit-based nature of the radical parties, and to liberate them from the bondage of lies in the name of truth. They must have the freedom to act and to choose, with patriotic and responsible parties representing them in the legislative body.

Friends, Our homeland continues on the path of freedom and independence achieved 34 years ago. The previous convocation of Parliament demonstrated to all that true independence and sovereignty are sacred for our small nation.

There are nations in the world that have lived for centuries – and continue to live – without not only a state but even a homeland. They have developed their formula for survival under such conditions. However, our nature and way of life are different. Our formula for survival lies in our identity and statehood. This is why, even when foreign rule was imposed upon us, Georgians always found ways, spaces, and opportunities to create small islands of independence. They searched and found them because, embedded in our three-thousand-year genetic memory, we carry what Ilia Chavchavadze defined as the main formula of our independence 160 years ago: "Let us stand on our own."

We must stand on our own to protect our three greatest treasures – our homeland, our language, and our faith.

Friends, Three years ago, when the Parliament of Georgia elected me as its Chairman, I promised that, together with you, I would stand guard over parliamentary sovereignty. The 10th convocation of Parliament excelled in fulfilling this role.

Now, I wish to pledge before you and alongside you that the Parliament of Georgia will listen to everyone but will act solely in accordance with the national interests of the Georgian people. This will be both our plan and our goal. May God protect our homeland”, Papuashvili said.