If political parties are banned, holding elections in Georgia will become impossible, and the prospect of moving closer to the European Union will drop to zero – Nika Gvaramia

According to Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change," if opposition parties are banned, holding elections in Georgia will become effectively impossible, and the prospect of moving closer to the European Union will be reduced to zero.

Gvaramia made these remarks following a meeting between the "opposition alliance" and the diplomatic corps.

He stated that the primary objective of the meeting was to brief the diplomatic corps on the ongoing proceedings at the Constitutional Court and to present the opposition's position.

"When all mainstream opposition parties are abolished, it effectively amounts to the cancellation of elections. Let me remind you: it is not just the parties currently facing legal challenges—consider that all parties that were part of the coalition are effectively being abolished. At the very least, the leaders themselves will be banned individually," Gvaramia declared.

He further assessed that any process conducted under such conditions could not be termed an election. According to Gvaramia, the opposition demands the assurance of a minimally fair electoral environment and has published six demands to this end.

"This is perfectly clear to the international community as well; there is zero chance that whatever follows the annulment [of the election results] could ever be termed an 'election' in any format. We are demanding at least a minimally fair election; we have published six requirements that the process must meet—a process that, while perhaps not officially labeled an 'election,' would constitute an election in substance," he noted.

Gvaramia stated that the decision to ban political parties effectively eliminates any prospect of Georgia moving closer to the European Union.

"Following this decision, the chance for Georgia to move closer to the EU—or, indeed, to avoid drifting significantly further away—will be zero. Relations had already become severely strained even with the [legal] challenge pending; after this decision, the possibility of moving closer to the EU will be non-existent," declared Nika Gvaramia.