Kakha Kaladze: We already knew that the opposition parties who came out yesterday were refusing to participate in the elections – it’s absolutely unclear what the purpose or main message was behind either starting or ending the hunger strike

It is absolutely unclear what the content and main goal were, either of starting the hunger strike or later ending it, said Georgian Dream’s Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze, in a statement to journalists.

According to him, there was nothing new in the opposition parties’ announcement, since it was already known that the eight parties in question were refusing to participate in the elections.

"From the beginning, the decision itself and the statement he made about the opposition were incomprehensible. An opposition representative began a protest hunger strike against the opposition. That’s nonsense and unimaginable. Clearly, this reflects their real state — the condition they’re in. As for the statement we heard, there was nothing new in it. We already knew that the opposition parties who came out yesterday had refused to participate in the elections. However, there are a number of opposition parties that have expressed readiness to take part in the elections. So it is absolutely unclear what the content or main goal was, either of starting or later ending the hunger strike,” Kaladze said.

For context, eight opposition parties issued a joint statement declaring they would not participate in the upcoming local self-government elections. The signatories include: “Liberty Square,” “It’s Time,” “Girchi – More Freedom,” “United National Movement,” “Strategy Aghmashenebeli,” “European Georgia,” “Akhali,” and “Federalists.”

Following the opposition's statement, Elene Khoshtaria and Gedevan Popkhadze, who had been on hunger strike in front of Parliament, ended their protest.