On The Significance Of Pro-European Unity In Georgia
Open Letter to the Georgian People
11 July 2024
As a true friend of Georgia and its people and a staunch supporter of their wish to join the European Union, I would like to congratulate President Salome Zurabishvili and the Georgian opposition political parties on their recent initiatives. These initiatives – if implemented – will bring Georgia back on track to real democracy, free of oligarchic capture, and back on track to European integration, which is now suspended by the EU because of anti-European actions and positions of the “Georgian Dream” Government.
By now it is obvious that with the Government of the “Georgian Dream,” the country will not be able to return to the path of EU integration. Therefore, the forthcoming national elections of the Parliament of Georgia, which are to be held in October, will become a unique and decisive possibility for Georgian voters to make this return happen. This change will be possible only if Georgian voters vote the “Georgian Dream” party out of the future Georgian Government. For this to happen, Georgia’s pro-European opposition must come to the elections united, with a clear and agreed agenda on how to free the country from oligarchic capture, from Kremlin influences, and how to bring the country back to the ambitious path of implementing the European Dream of the Georgian people.
That is why the recent initiative of President Salome Zurabishvili, titled the “Georgian Charter”, which serves as a basis for all pro-European political opposition to the “Georgian Dream” and the entire pro-European civil society and voters calling them to unite, is so strategically important and can only be wholeheartedly congratulated by all the true international friends of the Georgian people.
This is also why the recent initiative of opposition political parties to sign the “Unity Declaration” in Brussels should be congratulated. This “Unity Declaration” is the first practical step towards the implementation of the “Georgian Charter”.
An unambiguous declaration of the opposition parties to unite themselves around the “Georgian Charter”, as presented by President Salome Zurabishvili, means their political will to jointly seek the same most important strategic goals: to liberate democracy from the capture by oligarchs and to bring back Georgia on the Eurointegration path. This is an effort of historical significance not only for the Georgian people but also for the whole Europe because this is the way how Europe can become whole, free, and at peace.
It is of utmost importance that political parties not only declared political unity but also took responsibility to practically implement this unity, necessary for the different future of Georgia. Hence, the political parties promised to create a governing coalition after the elections, not to cooperate with any “Georgian Dream” initiative to stay in the government after the national elections, and to agree on a single candidate in the upcoming Presidential elections, who will be supported by the entire opposition. This is the European way of how political parties behave in the EU national parliaments – before elections, they declare to the voters clearly and transparently how they will create a coalition after elections and what the goals of such a coalition are.
It is outstanding that the promise given by the parties in the “Unity Declaration”, – that no single vote will be lost by the opposition because of the 5% election threshold and that until July 8th political parties will agree on the best configuration of unity,- has started to be implemented. We can only congratulate that exactly on 8th and 9th of July UNM-SA and Ahali party declared creation of two political blocks, which will also unite the smaller political parties from the opposition. It is becoming clear that in such a configuration votes in support of the opposition will not be lost because of the threshold. In addition, it is worth remembering that political blocks and political parties have time until the beginning of September to upgrade this configuration to an even stronger unity partnership.
Such a serious attitude of the opposition to their commitments under the “Unity Declaration”, brings additional hope that the two united blocks will also stay true to their promise not to attack each other during the election campaign and will adhere to European standards of political ethics. This is one of the most important promises since it is absolutely clear that the “Georgian Dream” will use all the hybrid tricks to bring disagreements to destroy the unity of the opposition.
Georgian society has shown on various occasions that they have sufficient courage and political will to defend their liberty, democracy, and their right to the Euro-Atlantic path.
Elections in October will be decisive for the Georgian people to help their country return to the path of the European future. President Zurabishvilli, the pro-European opposition, the civil society of Georgia, and the “Georgian Charter” are the only political institutions and political instruments able to help the Georgian people achieve those existential goals.
I trust that the opposition political parties will not fail in this historical responsibility. As various opinion polls’ data are showing, the Georgian people are going to give a mandate to the opposition to form a new government of Georgia if the opposition stays united around the “Georgian Charter” and consolidates around the same strategic goals: to bring freedom to Georgian democracy and to bring freedom to the European direction of Georgia. Freedom from the oligarchic state capture and the Kremlin hybrid influences.
As always, we shall continue to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, with the Georgian people and their dream of freedom, democracy, and Georgian membership in the European Union.
Andrius Kubilius
Former PM of Lithuania,
MEP, Co-President of Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (2019 – 2024)
