Georgian President Won't Recognize Vote Results, Calls For Protests, Alleges Russian Interference
According to RFE/RL, pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the ruling Georgian Dream party, said she will not recognize the results of parliamentary elections held on October 26 and alleged that the country has been the victim of a “Russian special operation.”
Zurabishvili did not present any evidence to back up her claim in a brief statement to the media in Tbilisi on October 27.
"As the only remaining independent institution in this state, I want to say that I do not recognize this election. It cannot be recognized. It would be the same as recognizing Russia's entry here -- Georgian subordination to Russia,” she said.
“I didn't come to Georgia for [Russian domination]. Our ancestors did not live for this. We will not tolerate this. It cannot be taken away from Georgia -- its European future," she added.
She called for street protests starting on October 28 at 7 p.m. in the South Caucasus nation, which has seen mass demonstrations in recent months against the ruling Georgian Dream party, which critics accuse of being pro-Russian and of having eroded democratic norms.
She blasted what she called a “Russian special operation -- one of the new forms of hybrid warfare carried out on our people, our country.”
The Georgian Dream party celebrated an apparent win in the vote, but the pro-Western opposition cried foul and election monitors said that “critical violations took place,” including voter intimidation and physical violence.
Western observers also demanded an investigation into alleged irregularities.
With ballots from more than 99.6 percent of precincts counted, Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said that Georgian Dream took 54.8 percent of the vote.
However, polls commissioned by the opposition indicated far lower numbers for Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Nearly all opposition parties have refused to accept the results reported by the election authorities.
The vote was seen as a crucial test of the EU-candidate country’s democratic credentials, and one that Brussels had said could determine Georgia’s chances of joining the bloc.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (an ally of the Georgian Dream leadership) paid a visit to Tbilisi on October 28-29.
Orban, who was the first foreign leader to congratulate Georgian Dream following the parliamentary elections -- weighing in before first official results were announced – is scheduled to hold a news conference with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze following the meetings.
