“The number of people yesterday was greater than I expected — the protest must continue. Alongside the protest, we will continue more intensive direct communication with the public. We will definitely inform you about the next large gathering. It will not happen in the short term because we fully understand the complexity of this work,” one of the leaders of the “Opposition Alliance,” Giorgi Vashadze, told journalists while speaking about the rally organized by the “Opposition Alliance” on May 26.

According to Giorgi Vashadze, yesterday’s event was a success.

“Thank you for the trust you have shown us, and I promise that we will never betray this trust under any circumstances. The rally organized by the Alliance was a very important statement. It was the concluding gathering of the first phase of nationwide mobilization. Now we are launching the second phase of nationwide mobilization, whose main slogan is: ‘Georgia Deserves Better.’ This message comes from the people themselves — from the individuals we met in the streets and listened to, observing what kind of message and mood was coming from them. I believe this is the right message for the campaign that we will probably activate within the next few days.

We will have some minor preparatory work. The main focus of the second phase is more, deeper, and broader direct communication with the Georgian people. We demonstrated that, unlike Georgian Dream, we are capable of direct engagement with the people. We showed that we care about their problems and understand well what troubles them — whether it is rising prices, fines, medicine for children, the difficult situation regarding migration and demographics, or families torn apart because of economic hardship. In the second phase, in addition to direct communication, we will present many topics through which we will show people that we are the alternative capable not only of taking responsibility for governing the country but also of addressing and quickly solving all the problems that concern people so deeply. We will try to reach everyone,” Vashadze stated.

According to him, the first stage involved direct communication with people in Tbilisi, while the next stage will cover the whole of Georgia. Vashadze said the difference between “Georgian Dream” and the “Opposition Alliance” is that the Alliance wants to unite society into one fist, while “Georgian Dream” seeks to divide and confront people with one another.

In Vashadze’s assessment, even the statements made today by Georgian Dream regarding yesterday’s rally clearly indicate that they do not want to speak with the people.

“I will never refer to any supporter of Georgian Dream the way they refer to our supporters. For us, everyone is a citizen of Georgia,” Vashadze said.

According to him, the “Opposition Alliance” is entering a new phase.

“To tell you directly, yesterday was also a test for me personally — whether we continue the struggle or whether we should do something else. Yesterday, I received one main message from the Georgian people: we must continue the struggle. No one is afraid of anything, and no one intends to back down. Not only will we cancel the fines and end all this injustice, but we will also free the prisoners and address every problem.

As for the number of people yesterday — it was greater than I expected,” Vashadze stated.

Vashadze also spoke about the driver whose driving license was revoked for one year and who was fined 1,000 GEL by the police because he was transporting stage equipment for the May 26 rally organized by the “Opposition Alliance.”

“Excuse me for using a Russian term they might understand — what kind of ‘small-minded people’ are they, that they took this honest man away, fined him, and revoked his license for a year? Thank you to everyone who participated in raising money for him. As far as I know, around 15,000 GEL has already been collected. Let’s continue because this vehicle was his source of income. We are not talking about rent here — we are talking about the fact that they effectively took away this patriotic man’s livelihood,” Giorgi Vashadze said.

In addition, Giorgi Vashadze spoke about the movement “First Georgia” and whether the “Opposition Alliance” is considering cooperation with them.

“To be direct, I really like this team and I do have communication with them. Very good specialists have gathered in ‘First Georgia.’ I was glad they attended yesterday’s rally. I would also have been happy if other groups had attended as well. Moreover, we would gladly have given the stage to representatives of any opposition group. Even if someone was not present at yesterday’s gathering, we will definitely continue talking with them because ‘Strength is in Unity,’ and the people want to see a Georgia united into one fist,” Vashadze said.