Georgia’s president calls for new elections as protests erupt again

Georgia’s pro-Western president says she will stay in office until new parliamentary elections are held, as protests continue against the government’s decision to suspend EU accession talks .

Speaking to the BBC, Salome Zourabichvili, who is on the opposition side, declared the current parliament “illegal” following allegations of fraud in last month’s election.

Zourabichvili said she would serve as president, although the country’s newly elected parliament said it would choose her replacement on December 14.

Massive protests in the capital are continuing for the third night in a row on Saturday in the capital Tbilisi.

Riot police were deployed around the parliament building, the epicenter of the ongoing protests, with officers using tear gas and water cannons.

Protests are also taking place in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi and other regions of Georgia.

“I am bringing stability to the transition, because what these people on the streets are demanding is a call for new elections to restore this country and its European path,” Zourabichvili said. Its Europe”.

Hundreds of civil servants signed a letter expressing disagreement with the government’s decision to suspend negotiations with the EU, saying it was against Georgia’s national interests.

Georgia’s ambassadors to Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Italy have also resigned.

Since 2012, Georgia has been ruled by Georgian Dream, a party that critics say has tried to take the country out of the EU and closer to Russia.

The party claimed victory in last month’s election but opposition lawmakers are boycotting the new parliament, accusing it of fraud.

On Thursday, the European Parliament backed one resolutiondescribed the election as the latest phase in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis” and said the ruling party was “fully responsible”.

It expressed particular concern about reports of voter intimidation, vote buying and manipulation, and harassment of observers.

After the resolution, Georgia’s Prime Minister said his government had “decided not to put the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028”.

In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters began demonstrating outside Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi on Thursday.

A group of public figures, writers and journalists also protested outside the country’s public broadcaster in the capital Tbilisi, accusing it of being a mouthpiece of the country’s ruling party.

“The public broadcaster must be freed from Russian influence and regime pressure,” said writer and activist Lasha Bugadze.

“The public broadcaster covers all of Georgia and they are brainwashing our people with propaganda, who may not be sure what is going on,” he said.

Four opposition coalitions and parties that won seats in last month’s parliamentary election but refused to accept their mandate, citing widespread vote fraud, issued a joint statement, calling for holding new elections under international supervision.

“Parties legally authorized by the people of Georgia will confront the illegal regime of Georgian Dream and systematic violence against peaceful protesters and journalists,” the statement read.

The US has condemned the “excessive use of force” in Georgia and called on all sides to ensure protests remain peaceful.

“Georgians largely support integration with Europe,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

About 150 people were detained after a November 29 protest in the capital Tbilisi. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters.

In the early hours of November 30, the police crackdown intensified as they began pursuing protesters, with reports of protesters being kicked and beaten with batons.

The country’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said 50 police officers were injured at the hands of “violent protesters who threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks, glass, rocks at the police”.

Kobakhidze has also criticized European politicians for “launching a series of insults” at the Georgian government.