Saakashvili lost quietly

Speech by Mikheil Saakashvili:

Dear compatriots!

The preliminary count of votes in the parliamentary elections showed that the Georgian Dream coalition won the majority in these elections. This means that the parliamentary majority must form a new government and I, as president, within the limits established by the constitution, will help the process that will allow the new parliament to work, so that the parliament can choose a new chairman of the parliament and begin to form a new government.

You are well aware that for me the views of this coalition were and remain fundamentally unacceptable, there is a very deep difference between us and we believe that their views are extremely erroneous.

But democracy works in such a way that the Georgian people make decisions by majority and we, of course, respect this very much.

At the same time, as the leader of the National Movement, I want to say that our party is moving into the opposition. The achievements of the last 8 years of the “Rose Revolution” are very important not only for the history of Georgia - and this is the most important part of the centuries-old history of the country, these achievements at the same time made Georgia one of the key countries for the rest of the world.

Therefore, I am deeply confident that in the end, no matter what dangers these achievements bring in the coming months or years, it is impossible to destroy them.

Therefore, we, as an opposition force, will fight for the future of our country, we will fight to ensure that everything that has been created in recent years - from the point of view of the fight against corruption, the fight against crime, from the point of view of the modernization of Georgia, from the point of view of creating modern institutions - protect as much as possible, preserve for future generations and continue the development of Georgia through constitutional and political processes.

Of course, I respect the decision of the majority of those who took part in the elections. But at the same time, I say thank you to the huge number of people - our supporters, who expressed support for the course of the government and the president.

I am confident that there is no alternative to the progress of Georgia’s development and we will all continue to fight with this confidence, no matter what the challenges of today.

Translation by Iya Barateli