On May 21, 2008, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. Official results showed the United National Movement winning 59.18% and the United Opposition 17.73%. The opposition claimed the vote was rigged and mobilized its supporters on May 26 at the Sports Palace. At that rally opposition leaders declared they did not recognize the May 21 elections or the newly formed parliament and demanded early parliamentary elections under an agreed electoral law.

The United Opposition and the Labour Party signed a memorandum stating that the opposition parties considered the elections illegitimate and therefore refused to enter the resulting parliament.

At the rally the opposition leaders symbolically tore up the electoral lists. Thousands of opposition supporters then marched toward Rustaveli Avenue, where a military parade dedicated to Independence Day was taking place, attended by President Saakashvili.

At the event, United Opposition leader Levan Gachechiladze said: “Georgia is not an easily winnable country. I do not care what Americans think, I do not care what Europeans think — we must build a Georgian state. I want to tell you that our struggle, the struggle of the Georgian people, the citizens of Georgia, is not only against Mikheil Saakashvili’s regime; it is against global geopolitics, against American interests, and against the interests of other countries.”

Following Gachechiladze’s call, the march near Parliament was soon dispersed. On May 26 the opposition awaited the CEC’s final decision on the elections, but the session was postponed. Gachechiladze urged protesters to return the night before the parliamentary convening, to stay overnight and prevent the new parliamentarians from entering the building.

The new parliament convened on June 7. Several hundred opposition supporters did gather at the Parliament from early morning, but their protest did not prevent the legislature from beginning its work. During that protest the leaders of the United Opposition and the Labour Party cut their parliamentary mandates with scissors. Afterwards they called on the crowd to disperse and said they would begin consultations on future plans.