Elections did not take place: the President of Georgia made an important statement

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that the parliamentary elections held in October cannot be considered as having taken place and called for continued protests, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.

“The elections in the country did not take place...it is imperative that they are held again as soon as possible,” Zurabishvili said at a special briefing.

Prior to that, she held consultations throughout the day with opposition leaders who have been blocking one of the traffic intersections in the center of Tbilisi for more than a day, demanding new elections.

“Society must continue its actions... its protest. I want to greet from here the people who are standing on the street today and will probably stay overnight,” Zurabishvili said.

According to the president, the October 26 elections “did not take place” and “the country is threatened with destabilization” due to dual power. She believes that systemic problems must be resolved and then new elections must be held.

“One of the threats is destabilization, which could lead to dual power and deepening polarization... this is facilitated by the extremely aggressive propaganda of the government and its supporters. partners chooses isolation, which is typical of the current government. At the same time, we are dealing with the economic and financial crisis that is on our doorstep with all the consequences that follow,” Zurabishvili said.

New claim

The President said that on Tuesday she is filing a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court to challenge the results of the parliamentary elections due to a massive violation of voting secrecy - she refers to ballots with a black circle next to the chosen party on the back.

Also, according to Zurabishvili, the voter's right to vote was violated - in this case, claims to the organization of voting for Georgian migrants abroad.

“Not because I believe in the Constitutional Court, but because I want to fully test the conscience of those judges who will be faced with the choice of what kind of country we want to be and in what direction this country should move. this Constitutional Court has shown that at least a few judges have shown that there are worthy judges in this country,” Zurabishvili said.

Zurabishvili's plan

Zurabishvili said that the former government and parliament of Georgia should continue their work temporarily.

According to the Constitution, the first meeting of the new parliament after the elections is appointed by the president, which Zurabishvili is not going to do. 

Zurabishvili said that she is offering political parties, the government and society her vision of a way out of the current political crisis: the old parliament and the old government remain and new elections are being prepared.

According to her, the new elections should be preceded by an international investigation into violations in the October vote to identify and correct systemic flaws “if we want to have new, fair, free and unfalsified elections.

Recall

This weekend, the Central Election Commission of Georgia approved the final protocol of the parliamentary elections, which were not recognized by the opposition and the president, held on October 26.

None of the four opposition groups that received minority parliamentary seats agree with the published results.

The opposition is demanding a new vote and an international investigation into the October 26 election violations, expressing distrust of the investigative bodies and the judicial system.