Tsintsadze: refusal to return to parliament makes Georgian opposition weaker

The refusal of opposition parties of Georgia to take part in elections does not strengthen, but only weakens the political force of the opposition, political scientist Soso Tsintsadze said in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The demonstrations held in Tbilisi in April-July 2009 decreased the rating of the opposition parties, which had not entered the parliament. Look, if at the beginning the actions brought together about one hundred thousand participants, three months later, there were no people at the rallies. And not a single political aim, announced by oppositional leaders, was reached: President has not retired and early elections not appointed," said Mr Tsintsadze.

The leaders of the national themselves believe that their return to parliament is impossible. "We don't change our position, and we aren't going to work in the parliament convoked as a result of falsified elections," said Mamuka Katsitadze, one of the leaders of the Party "New Right-Wingers".

Soso Shatberashvili, secretary general of the Labour Party of Georgia, has noted that the MPs from his party were not deprived of their mandates, but, nevertheless, they boycott all the sessions of the parliament.