Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has said that he will remain in office until, according to him, the legitimate parliament elects a new president. The pro-Western leader and the opposition do not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in October.
“Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced that the illegal parliament cannot elect a new president, so the swearing-in ceremony will not take place, and his mandate will continue until the new president is elected by the new parliament,” – says the Echo Kavkaza website (a Radio Svoboda) reported.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which according to official information won the parliamentary elections, announced on Wednesday that its presidential candidate is politician and former football player Mikhail Kavelashvili.
Protests in Georgia PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
Four opposition parties that crossed the election threshold and the president do not recognize the results of the vote due to many violations of the law. They demand that the international administration call new elections. Zurabishvili announced that “the voters were victims of Russian special operations”.
Voting fraud, voter intimidation
In early November, two American research centers, which conducted an exit poll after the parliamentary elections at the request of the Georgian opposition, questioned the official results published by the Central Election Commission.
International observers, including the OSCE, have acknowledged that irregularities such as voter fraud, voter intimidation and bribery affected the election, but have not publicly concluded that it was rigged.
The president of Georgia later explained to AFP that electronic voting was used to falsify parliamentary elections. Zurabishvili said that the same ID card numbers sometimes correspond to dozens or 20 votes cast in different regions of Georgia.
Clashes with the police in Georgia DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/PAP/EPA
According to the president of Georgia, “classical” methods were also used, such as “buying votes, putting pressure on public sector employees” as well as on the families of prisoners who could be released. Zurabishvili also said that “money was openly distributed in minibuses at polling stations”.
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In December of this year, the head of state will be elected for the first time by a special college, in which the ruling party, which is accused of abandoning democratic norms, will have a majority.
Anti-government demonstrations
Thousands of anti-government demonstrations have been taking place in Georgia for several days since the country's prime minister announced that the government would suspend negotiations on the country's membership in the European Union until 2028.
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On Saturday, people also took to the streets. Zet Radio reporter Tomas Kubat reported on the situation in Tbilisi in an interview with TVN24.
– Many people gathered in front of the parliament building, thousands of people – he said.
But he added that the police are guarding the demonstrators not only on Rustaveli Avenue, the central street of the city, but also on smaller streets. “There are thousands of policemen here, vehicles equipped with water sprinklers are already ready for action,” he described.
Another day of protests in Georgia. Report of Radio Zet reporter Tomash KubatTVN24/Reuters
Main photo source: DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/PAP
