“The government is gradually moving from autocracy toward dictatorship—no dictator has ever won a battle against the people, and I hope that the Georgian people will not allow anyone to pocket Georgia!” said Paata Manjgaladze, a member of the “Strategy Aghmashenebeli” party, assessing the ongoing processes in the country.

During an appearance on PalitraNews’s program “Day’s Newsroom,” Manjgaladze stated that “the regime has exhausted its moral resources and has now shifted to redistributing and preserving stolen wealth.” In the same context, he noted that “during this redistribution, several clans under Ivanishvili have clashed with each other.”

According to the “Strategy Aghmashenebeli” member’s assessment, “this is a system that has turned the task of holding onto power into violence.”

“The government is gradually moving from autocracy toward dictatorship. The regime says: ‘My police, my thugs, my enforcers will be protected,’ while telling citizens that they should have no protector or master. We say that a protest participant punched a police officer, but before that, people were physically assaulted, beaten with fists, their heads were used as footballs, a journalist was nearly strangled live on air, and not a single case has been opened regarding these incidents.

Instead of students studying, the government is arresting them. Over 500 young people have been beaten, and no one has been punished for it. This is a system that has turned the task of holding onto power into violence.

If the protest is defeated, if the idea of a European future is defeated, Georgia will be defeated. But if Ivanishvili is defeated, Georgia will be liberated, and the country will become safer, stronger, and more developed. That’s the difference!

The European Parliament’s resolution has confirmed that we do not have a legitimate government. This is how the entire civilized world views them. There is a de facto government, but we do not have a democratic government elected by the people,” Manjgaladze stated.

According to him, the local elections scheduled for October 4 are a farce, and participating in them is utterly pointless.

Furthermore, Manjgaladze shared that next week, “Strategy Aghmashenebeli” leader Giorgi Vashadze will publish a mechanism for decision-making among parties united around core principles.

“If elections don’t exist, you can neither participate in them nor boycott them. Eight parties are saying that the only solution is new parliamentary elections, and participation in non-existent elections is not possible.

Giorgi Vashadze says that without a mechanism, any talk of unity is a sham. Next week, he will publish a concrete mechanism for how decisions should be made in the ‘Group of Eight’ format. If I disagree with someone, I shouldn’t start slandering them; instead, the parties united around core principles should sit at the table. If they make a decision contrary to what I say, I will be obliged to comply and remain part of the unity.

Their propaganda, apart from violence, also relies on telling people every day: ‘Look at the opposition! They can’t agree on anything, they slander each other, how can they build a country or take you to the EU?’ Why do we give them additional arguments, and why do we create problems where it’s possible to minimize them?! Let’s sit at a round table, and regardless of whether I, Giorgi Vashadze, or ‘Strategy Aghmashenebeli’ like a decision or not, if I am part of the unity, I will be obliged to follow the majority’s decision and implement the collective decision.

If this mechanism doesn’t exist and we haven’t agreed on it, unity is a complete illusion,” Manjgaladze stated.