Prepared by Messenger Staff
Viktor Kipiani Calls on Opposition to Focus on Ending Polarization
Viktor Kipiani, founder of the political party Georgia First, said the opposition should work toward reducing political polarization if it wants to achieve change.
In a statement addressed to opposition parties and supporters, Kipiani said the main issue is not whether the opposition participates in elections, but the conditions and approach under which it does so.
"The red line is not to answer the question of whether you participate in the elections, but how you participate in the elections," Kipiani wrote.
He said the most realistic way to achieve fair and competitive elections would be to establish certain rules and discuss them with the ruling party.
"The most realistic, equal, fair and competitive elections will be to gather certain rules and discuss these rules with the ruling party," he said.
Kipiani also called on the opposition to consider ways to reduce polarization, arguing that a broader group of people seeking change could be more effective in this process.
"The opposition should think about ending polarization. Because when the bloc of people seeking change grows, this will be a more effective way to end polarization than waiting for 'Dream' to do it, especially since they do not have the desire to do so," Kipiani said.
Lelo Criticizes Georgian Dream Over Trump Letter
Lelo-Strong Georgia's Foreign Secretary Grigol Gegelia criticized Georgian Dream officials for celebrating a letter sent by U.S. President Donald Trump to Irakli Kobakhidze and Kakha Kaladze.
Gegelia said the letter was an automatically generated response sent to leaders who congratulated Trump and the United States on the 250th anniversary of Independence Day.
He argued that Georgia's strategic partnership with the U.S. remains suspended and said normalization depends on the government meeting Washington's conditions.
"Instead of celebrating these superficial, automatically generated letters, Georgian Dream should take real, effective steps to restore Georgia's lost strategic partnership with the United States," Gegelia said.
