The Georgian president does not recognize election results and calls for protests

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said on October 27 that she would not recognize the results of the country's recent parliamentary elections and called on citizens to join her in mass demonstrations.

According to the Georgian Election Commission, the ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream party won the majority in the October 26 vote. Pro-EU parties have disputed the result, and European observers also said the election was marked by intimidation and irregularities.

“I do not recognize these elections,” President Zurabishvili said in a press conference on October 27, Echo of the Caucasus reported.

“These elections cannot be recognized. This is tantamount to recognizing Georgia's subordination to Russia. … Nobody can take away Georgia’s European future.”

Zurabishvili called the result a “total fraud” and described the election as a “Russian special operation.” She called on citizens to join her at Freedom Square on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi to protest against the rigged elections.

“We must stand together and declare that we do not recognize these elections, we do not tolerate Russia and its invasion of Georgia in this form,” she said.

“We will stand together. … I would like to invite you all to Rustaveli tomorrow at 7 p.m. so that we can say together: declare to the whole world that we do not recognize these elections, we defend constitutional rights.” ”

The president's words echo those of the former prime minister Giorgi Gakhariaan opposition leader who said the results “do not reflect the will of the Georgian people” and called for “sensible forms of protest” to “defend the European future” of the country.

The Georgian Dream party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has brought the country closer to Moscow and hindered its EU aspirations. Tbilisi acceptance of the controversial Foreign Agents Act Earlier this year, the EU effectively froze Georgia's accession process, despite the country having been granted candidate status in December last year.

The passage of the Foreign Agents Act sparked widespread protests across the country.

The party also said it would apply for one Constitutional ban about the UNM, one of the country's leading opposition parties founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and other opposition groups.

After the results of the October 26 vote were announced, Georgian opposition groups refused to recognize the result and claimed the election was stolen, citing election observers reporting Various violations across the country, including ballot forgery and voter intimidation.

European election observers also expressed concerns about the electoral process in Georgia.

“During our observation, we detected cases of vote buying and double votes before and during elections, especially in rural areas,” said Ioan Bulai, the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“The presence of ruling party cameras in polling stations and the presence of people outside polling stations tracking and possibly controlling voters created an atmosphere of pressure and intimidation organized by the party.”

Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze said on October 27 that Georgia's parliament would approve the government despite opposition protests.