Pro-European opposition demonstrates in Georgia against electoral “theft”

The Caucasian republic of Georgia is facing its umpteenth crisis between Russia and the West since the 2003 Rose Revolution, when, under the leadership of now-jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili, it took its first turn away from Moscow and toward the EU. Took. Thousands of Georgians demonstrated in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi yesterday to condemn the “theft” of Saturday’s legislative elections, calling on his party, the United National Movement, which ruled until 2012, and other pro-European opposition formations. Official results declared the current party in power, Georgian Dream, which is accused of being pro-Russian, the winner with about 54% of the votes.

The crisis was further exacerbated by the surprise visit of Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who holds the EU’s semiannual rotating presidency and who had arrived in Georgia to support the party in power. On Saturday he congratulated Sueno Georgiano on victory without trusting Brussels.

According to Borrell, Georgia does not need “useless lessons” from Europe, saying Orban, who “does not represent the EU”.

In his position regarding Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its war against Ukraine, Orban is the black sheep of the EU. Call for an end to sanctions against Moscow and demand the right to maintain trade relations with Russia.

“Whatever he says, he does not represent the EU,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, warned on Spanish national radio yesterday. And he pointed out that the semi-annual EU presidency has no powers in foreign policy.

Viktor Orbán had already caused embarrassment among his allies in July when he traveled alone to Moscow to meet Putin on what he described as a “peace mission.” A week ago he was in Kiev and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also disapproved of his enemy’s visit to the capital.

Georgia’s opposition is supported by the country’s current President, Salome Zurabishvili (whose role is only representative and has no executive powers). “We do not recognize the results of these elections,” he said on Sunday, calling the results a “Russian special operation.” The European Union, the United States and NATO are also in the same position, demanding that Tbilisi investigate irregularities reported by the opposition.

From Moscow the Kremlin accused Zurabishvili and Western countries of trying to destabilize Georgia. “We strongly reject the allegations, which have become common in many countries. At the very least, they accuse Russia of interference… There was no interference and the accusations are absolutely baseless,” said spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers reported on Sunday that they had documented incidents of vote buying, intimidation and ballot box tampering during Saturday’s election day.

opposition support

The country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, whose role is only representative, does not recognize the results, which she has described as a “special operation of Russia”.

The four opposition organizations that gained representation after the election are based on these irregularities: Coalition for Change (11.03%), National Unity-Movement (10.16%), Strong Georgia (8.81%) and Por Georgia (7.77%).

However, the OSCE team has not reached a conclusion that the elections were rigged. “The election day process was generally well organized, and conducted in an orderly manner,” he said. The observation team, which began work in September, also indicates that registration of parties and candidates was inclusive and the electoral campaign, “competitive but moderate”. Although it notes that there continued to be reports of voter intimidation, coercion, and pressure, claimants were generally able to campaign freely, while the legal framework provided an adequate basis for democratic elections.

In Georgian Dream they use these findings to highlight their position that the elections were legitimate. Georgian Dream won with 53.92% of the votes. Prime Minister Irakli Kobazidze assured that Georgia has passed the test of democracy. The founder of Georgian Dream, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia, thanked the people for their support and the election commission declared the vote free and fair.

Shortly after arriving in Tbilisi, Orban wrote on the social network X: “Georgia is a conservative, Christian and pro-European state. Instead of useless lessons, they need our support on the road to Europe.

Kobazhidze assured yesterday that Georgia’s integration into the EU remains a “priority”. He highlighted on Sunday that he had refused to re-establish diplomatic relations with Russia “because of its occupation of 10% of the territory”. He was referring to the former Soviet republic’s rebel provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, whose independence Moscow recognized after the August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia. Tbilisi is considered to be under Russian occupation.