TBILISI, March 4 – A group of Georgian opposition parties announced a new political alliance on Monday, saying they have signed a joint document to coordinate their next steps in the country’s bitter political standoff.
One of the alliance’s public faces, Nika Gvaramia, a leader of the Coalition for Change, told reporters after a meeting of opposition parties that the “opposition alliance” had been formed.
Interpressnews reported that the document was signed by the Coalition for Change (Girchi–More Freedom, Droa, and Akhali), the United National Movement, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Federalists, the National Democratic Party, European Georgia, and Freedom Square.
Later the same day, the new alliance issued a joint statement about what it called its “principle agreement,” presenting it as a common framework for cooperation among the signatories.
Former president Salome Zourabichvili welcomed the move, describing it as a strategy that should become a foundation for a joint struggle by political and public forces, aimed at what she called a change of “regime” and a peaceful transformation.
The idea of a broad alliance had been floated in late February as talks continued among opposition figures. Tamar Chergoleishvili said at the time that the parties were “99%” aligned, stressing that it was not a merger into one party but a multi-party alliance. She also argued that, if the process gained momentum, other opposition leaders would be pressured to join.
The ruling camp criticized the opposition move. In one reaction carried by Interpressnews, ruling party lawmaker Guram Macharashvili mocked internal problems in the United National Movement and suggested a constitutional court would “put a full stop” to what he described as a “tragicomic” situation.
Another opposition figure, Giorgi Sharashidze from the party For Georgia, commented that voters will ultimately decide who is a real alternative to Georgian Dream and who counts as a genuine opposition force in the country.
