In 11 days a decisive elections that will finally determine the fate of our country will be held, a referendum on which we all must finally reject war and choose peace, said the Prime Minister of Georgia in his speech at the meeting held in Zugdidi, within the framework of the pre-election campaign.

“Welcome Megreleians, welcome Svans, welcome the kids of one of the most beautiful parts of our country - Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti. Welcome IDPs from Abkhazia, I greet our compatriots living in temporarily occupied Abkhazia.

I want to greet the current and future representatives of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the Parliament of Georgia.

Samegrelo and Svaneti are distinguished by their beautiful nature, precious cultural heritage, special honor and talented people who have always made a special contribution to the development of our country. Once again, I would like to express my special respect to each of you.

In 11 days there will be decisive elections that will finally determine the fate of our country. This is a referendum where we must all together finally reject war and choose peace, reject immoral propaganda and choose traditional values, reject the dark past and choose a bright, European future for our country.

Until 2012, Georgia was ruled by an authoritarian regime of stateless politicians, foreign agents, who killed and tortured people, robbed businesses, and hijacked TV stations. This regime involved the country in war in 2008 and temporarily lost 20% of Georia’s territories. Besides, until 2012, the country had the worst economic, social situation. People had lost all hope that anything or anyone could change this situation.

It was at this time that the founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, appeared in politics, introduced a democratic turning point in the development of our country and put Georgia on the right path of development. It is thanks to Bidzina Ivanishvili that all the revolutionary changes that Georgia has achieved in the areas of democracy, human rights, economy, European integration, security, etc. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for this.

After 2012, the Georgian Dream government ensured fundamental progress of the country in all directions:

- We have increased the country’s economy from 28 billion GEL to 90 billion GEL, and by 2028 it will increase to 130 billion GEL;
- We increased the country’s budget from 8.5 billion GEL to 28 billion GEL, and in 2028, the budget will exceed 40 billion GEL;
- We halved unemployment. 170,000 jobs were created in the last 2.5 years alone, and an additional 200,000 new jobs will be created by 2028;
- We increased the average salary from 712.5 GEL to 2,005 GEL, which will reach 3,500 GEL in 2028;
- After 2012, 680,000 of our fellow citizens overcame poverty, and by 2028, up to 300,000 additional people will overcome poverty, after which the poverty rate will drop below 4%;
- In the past 2.5 years alone, we have attracted foreign investments of 5 billion dollars, and in the next 4 years, we will attract additional direct foreign investments of USD 9 billion;
- Before 2012, only 68 km of highways were built, and after 2012, 300 km of highways were built in the country. The construction of the East-West highway will be completed next year, which will significantly reduce the travel time from Samegrelo and Svaneti to other regions of the country and the capital. A new highway will be built from Teklati to Anaklia, which will naturally serve the port of Anaklia and this region in general;
- We are starting the construction of the port of Anaklia, which will give a new impetus to the development of Samegrelo;
- After 2012, with the support of the state, 700 new enterprises were created, 800 enterprises were expanded. Within the framework of business support programs, hundreds of new enterprises and 70,000 jobs will be created through 2028;
- We increased the output of agricultural products by 2 times. During the next 4 years, 3 billion will be allocated from the state budget for the development of agriculture and the strengthening of the Georgian countryside, for information, approximately 10 times less was allocated for 2012;
- Tourism is developing rapidly. By 2028, the number of visitors to Georgia will exceed 11 million, and revenues from tourism will exceed 6.4 billion dollars. We are starting the construction of the new terminal of Mestia Airport;
- In 2030, the production of electricity in Georgia will exceed 3 times the rate of 2012, and Georgia will become a completely self-sufficient and independent country from the point of view of electric power;
- More than 2 billion GEL will be allocated for the regional development fund, 400 million for the rural support program, 155 million for the mountain fund, and 200 million for the municipal transport program;
- After 2012, the rate of gasification increased 3 times and next year 93% of the population will be provided with natural gas. State investments in water supply increased 15 times. Next year, all cities will have access to 24-hour water supply;
- Until 2012, only 12 houses of justice were functioning in the country, and after 2012, 109 houses of justice were built, and by the end of the next year, 12 more houses of justice will be opened and thus the whole country will be covered;
- After 2012, we increased education funding 4 times. We made kindergartens completely free and introduced a program of free textbooks. We completed the construction and rehabilitation of 836 kindergartens, started the program of construction and rehabilitation of 885 kindergartens. We have built 174 schools, completed the rehabilitation of more than 1,000 schools, and in the next 4 years, the construction and rehabilitation of more than 500 schools will be completed;
- The financing of sports has increased 4 times and the results are that the sports infrastructure has significantly improved, which has also been reflected in the sports achievements, and in the coming years we are starting a USD 2 billion program to further improve the sports infrastructure;
- Our government has introduced a universal healthcare program and other targeted programs. The country"s social budget and healthcare financing have increased 4 times. As a result, the financial access to health care for our population has improved 5 times, the average life expectancy has increased from 72 to 75 years, and the number of people reaching retirement age has increased by 155,000. The package of social protection of the population was expanded 5 times. We increased pensions 3 times. From January 1, the pension for pensioners under the age of 70 will be 350 GEL, and for pensioners over 70 - 450 GEL. Accordingly, pensions for pensioners living in highland settlements will increase to 420 and 540 GEL;
- 35,000 displaced families received decent housing, and after the completion of the current projects, an additional 6,000 displaced families will receive apartments in newly built buildings.

This is only an incomplete list of what we have done in the past 12 years and what we plan to do in the next 4 years.

Most importantly, we should all remember that progress and development of the country is impossible without peace. The government of "Georgian Dream" is the only government after the restoration of independence, during which Georgia did not have a war. Even now, the victory of the "Georgian Dream" is the only guarantee that our country will maintain peace and provide a bright future for the Georgian people.

Our Georgian dream is to unite Georgia. A dividing line is located a few km from Zugdidi, which artificially separates us from our historical side - Abkhazia. The dividing line artificially separates us from people, including our Abkhaz brothers and sisters who live beyond Enguri. I am sure that the time will soon come when all artificial obstacles will be removed, Georgians and Abkhazians will live together in a united and indivisible Georgian state, together we will create a bright future for Georgia and together we will become a member of the EU.

The October 26 elections are crucial. On October 26, we must once again stand together to defend peace, dignity, prosperity for our country. 26 is our day and October is our month! On October 26, Georgian Dream will definitely win, and the Georgian people will win, and the Georgian state will win! May God protect this beautiful country and may God protect Georgia!” – said Irakli Kobakhidze.