Georgia’s outgoing president calls for urgent EU support “before it’s too late”

Outgoing president of Georgia, Salome ZourabichviliIn an interview with Euronews, he reiterated his claims that the parliamentary elections held in Georgia on October 26 were manipulated by Russia and called on the EU to act quickly.

Speaking after his speech at the plenary meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Zourabichvili repeated his promise that he would not resign on December 29, when the newly elected president Mikheil Kavelashvili will take office. Sees him as an illegitimate candidate: He was the only one to emerge – as a form of protest by the pro-European opposition – after being chosen by an electoral college now held by the US. Georgian DreamPro-Russian ruling party.

Georgian Dream changed the election law in 2017 To be able to directly control the presidential election through an electoral board consisting of MPs and regional delegates. Zourabichvili was elected this way in 2018, but after the Government’s pro-Russian drift, the president broke off relations with them.

“My term continues because the Constitution says it ends with the inauguration of a president. But This president must be chosen by the college (through election)By parliament, which should be legitimate in itself, but this is not the case. That’s why I will continue until the next elections,” he said.

Zourabichvili: “Elections were manipulated”

The outgoing president reiterated new voting callHe claimed that the parliamentary elections held on October 26 were rigged due to Russian interference. From this vote emerged the new Parliament, which, together with local representatives, elected the new president on 14 December.

However, the current president believes that the Georgian people will support him and is not afraid of being overthrown by force, even if he would lose his security apparatus. “My legitimacy comes from my election and the public’s trust. “Whether or not they provide me with this does not depend on the building, the security apparatus or any materials,” he said, referring to the ruling Georgian Dream party. “They definitely won’t accept it. “They weren’t accepting it before.”

stated that Georgian Dream should have been between 30 percent and 35 percent instead of 53 percent Citing the difficulties affecting their votes, he said that millions of Georgian immigrants in the diaspora were registered and that, in his opinion, 34,000 of them were able to vote “due to artificial obstacles put in front of them.”

Zourabichvili described various forms; filling ballot boxes with new electronic machines, intimidation And vote buying– He claimed that Russia intervened in the elections held on October 26 in Georgia.

He said that 200 million dollars of black money entered the country in a month.. “And we know this because the central bank had to sell its dollar reserves at that time and there was no other explanation for it,” he said.

He said Georgian Dream set the stage for election rigging by enacting a law designed to pressure civil society organizations for funding and make them less prepared for election observation.

“So this was a complex, well-planned, well-designed operation, Supported by Russian propagandaHe said, referring to a meme that claimed a “Global War party” including Western countries was dragging Georgia into the war in Ukraine.

Russia has steadfastly denied any accusations of interfering in Georgia’s parliamentary elections. “We absolutely deny such accusations. This has become the norm for many countries and they immediately accuse Russia of interference. “No, this is not true, there was no interference and the accusations are absolutely groundless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow a few days after the vote took place.

“A new form of occupation of Russia”

Zourabichvili said in part that he was not afraid of Russia invading Georgia. Russian troops are already on the territory of Georgiahe said, meaning Abkhazia and South OssetiaThe area Georgia considers as “occupied territories”. But he said that Russia was experimenting “a hybrid invasion through electionsthrough proxies, through an authoritarian government”.

Call for the EU to act quicklyTo avoid adopting a “business as usual” bond with the Georgian Government, which “lies to its people, saying they will return to the European way anyway, while creating a truly authoritarian Russian-style state.”

Actually, The ruling party did not openly refuse to join the EUHowever, on November 28, it was announced that EU accession negotiations were suspended until the end of 2028. This decision led to mass protests that still continue in many cities of Georgia; This was followed by violent repressions, chaotic clashes in the streets, arrests of opposition figures and scores of people. It was reported that there were injuries.

ADVERT

As the President of Georgia noted in his plenary speech, Europe is, for now, “waking up slowly and reacting slowly.” While the European Parliament calls for new elections in the Eastern European country EU Member States propose suspension of visa-free travel For holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports. However, they could not agree on the imposition of EU sanctions on Georgian officials, as this move was blocked due to vetoes by Hungary and Slovakia.

“I know how difficult it is to reach consensus to make decisions on more direct measures,” Zourabichvili said. he said. “But I also think The EU cannot allow a single country to determine its foreign policy in such a strategically important region. For the European Union like the Caucasus”.

Then, He called on the EU to double its response and support now. After his speech, he met with MPs and EU officials in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and defended his stance. “Some people ask me if I will go into exile and say they would be very happy to support me. But no, I will be in Georgia and they have to support me in Georgia along with the Georgian population.”