Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the previous US administration “did everything to ensure the opposition did not use their mandates,” and expressed satisfaction that the approach of the Donald Trump administration is different, including on such matters.
The head of government recalled that after the 2020 parliamentary elections and up until the 2024 elections, this process of the government’s opponents refusing their mandates in the Georgian parliament was, according to him, accompanied by external influence.
“As a result, in one case we had to negotiate and sign an agreement, but even after that, part of the opposition did not enter parliament. In 2024, out of the four parties that cleared the threshold, three did not enter parliament,” he stated.
Kobakhidze added that, in his opinion, the “previous administration” — the Joe Biden administration — as well as the “European bureaucracy” were “directly involved” in this, and expressed satisfaction that the new US administration takes a different position.
All political parties, he emphasized, must respect the choice of voters and the mandates they received. The fact that this did not happen previously is explained by external interference.
Kobakhidze spoke about a meeting between representatives of Georgian Dream (the ruling party) and members of a US State Department delegation, noting that the official position of the Georgian government is a desire to restart the strategic partnership with the US “from scratch” based on a specific roadmap and the principles of fairness.
“The key problem that hindered the improvement of relations and, on the contrary, worsened them, was injustice — the injustice of the previous administration.
What was ruined by injustice can only be corrected by a fair approach based on mutual respect. This is our appeal to our American colleagues,” Kobakhidze stated.
