She stated the above in her address to the European Parliament.“Georgia protests when the Georgian population feels, perceives a threat to Europeanness and independence. There have never been mass protests in Georgia regarding social issues, there are many reasons for this, although the situation in this regard is not satisfactory at all, quite the opposite. The only time when people took to the streets en masse was when they felt that this was an existential issue and that it was at stake. This is happening today. This is a very peaceful movement, a mass civil disobedience movement, and it demands two things - give me back my vote because the elections were stolen, give me back my future and most importantly, my European future, and also, there is a demand for new elections. This is not a revolutionary movement, in its essence, because there is no demand for that. The demand is to return to new elections, in a peaceful environment, and to see where the will of those people who took to the streets and want this to happen democratically, in the form of a vote, is," Salome Zourabichvili said.

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As the President explained, she wanted to talk to the Minister of Internal Affairs about the cases of violence that occurred during the elections, but she could not get in touch with him.“In fact, we had the “Russian elections”. These are elections that were massively rigged, carried out at a very high, sophisticated level. This was not the usual fraud that we see in elections.Changes to the Electoral Code were planned, which began much earlier. Full control was transferred to the CEC. Those people who were appointed by the CEC were not appointed in accordance with the rules that the European Union proposed, but were appointed by the government. Electronic voting was developed without control. There was talk that pensions of European older citizens had been stolen, and there were also issues of "call centers" - the issue of 3,500 "call centers". Intimidation, use of administrative resources, Russian-style propaganda, there were posters where on one side there were destroyed churches and theaters of Ukraine, and on the other side, an image of a prosperous Georgia. This shocked the Georgian society so much that they were then dismantled. This is not an integral part of the Georgian character, it showed Russian traces. There were also facts: “The opposition wants to overthrow the government”, “They should be abolished after the elections”, “Opposition parties should be banned after the elections”, “The leaders should be arrested”. A large amount of “black money” was used. 600 million GEL was spent during the October elections. You would not find the police during the elections. For example, I saw violence taking place in various polling stations. I called the Minister of Internal Affairs and I could not reach him either by mobile phone or through the government network. I could not contact his deputies, they did not call me back either.2 principles were violated during the elections. This is enough to show that any result would have been different. A million members of the diaspora are in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a very good example, no polling station was opened here, there are many Georgians in Strasbourg. The entire diaspora was mobilized, they knew that the elections were the choice between the path to Russia or Europe.Also, there was a question of trust in terms of confidentiality - electronic systems were used, party cameras were watching election machines. There was a lawsuit against all of this in the Constitutional Court. We hoped that some judges would understand and realize that this was the way out of the crisis. The results were falsified, elections should have been called constitutionally. There was another request from a group of citizens to the Strasbourg Court, where it was stated that we want to use all legal means to make a political decision on this deep crisis,” the President noted.

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According to the PM, such decisions lead to the devaluation of European structures among the Georgian people.“The result of such decisions is that the European structures suffer constant devaluation in the perception of the Georgian society, which is a serious problem. As you know, the EU has recently conducted a Eurobarometer (a collection of cross-country public opinion surveys) based on which In the last six months, trust in the European structures in Georgia has reduced by 6%,” he said.The European Council decided to suspend visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic passports, following discussions at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels on Monday, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said.

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Kavelashvili was nominated as the presidential candidate by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party. When he presented the candidate, he said of Kavelashvili: "By his nature, if you like, by his habit, he is the best embodiment of a Georgian man."The president is being elected for the first time in Georgia under a new, indirect system, for a 5-year term.The electoral college consists of 300 members, of which 150 are members of the Parliament of Georgia, and the remaining 150 are recruited according to the following principle: All 21 members of the Supreme Council of Ajara All 20 members of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia 109 members – representatives from the municipal councils, who are distributed proportionally to the results of the previous elections. Out of the 300 members, as of today, the Georgian Dream has 211 members; the Akhali party has 20 members; the National Movement has 20 members; the Lelo party has 15 members; and the Gakharia party has 14 members.

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According to the statement, “Today’s action will affect approximately twenty individuals, including individuals serving as government ministers and in Parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens.”“The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s ongoing, brutal, and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures.Georgian Dream has turned away from Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future, which the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire and the Georgian constitution envisions. We are committed to seeing that senior officials responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy will be subject to visa restrictions.We are preparing additional actions, including sanctions, to hold to account those who undermine democracy in Georgia.Alongside the people of Georgia, we want to see a strong, prosperous, and democratic Georgia firmly integrated in the Euro-Atlantic community.  Our actions today demonstrate U.S. resolve and add to previously announced actions implicating more than 100 Georgian Dream-affiliated individuals and their family members,” reads the statement.

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Herczyński emphasized the EU’s commitment to action under its new leadership.“As I already informed you, next week there will be three very important events in Brussels. On Monday, we will have the Foreign Affairs Council, ministers will discuss Georgia. Then there will be a General Affairs Council, European Ministers will discuss Georgia. Then at the very end of the week, there will be European Council and European leaders will discuss the situation in Georgia. What does it mean? It means that as the European Union, we are really concerned with the events. With the new leadership of EU institutions, there is really a commitment to stop talking and to start action.Unfortunately, as I have told you loud and clear, this requires member states to play along. As we speak, there are very intensive negotiations ongoing in Brussels and between capitals in order to agree on different measures,” he declared.The EU Ambassador stated that all options are on the table, including suspending the visa-free regime for certain passport holders.“I sincerely hope that 27 member states will be in a position to agree to concrete measures. There is still time. The negotiations are very intensive. So we have to wait till Monday. All the options are on the table, including the issue of the suspension of a visa-free regime for certain passport holders and, first and foremost, sanctions. Sanctions are very difficult for the European Union because they require unanimity.Again, negotiations between 27 capitals are ongoing, and I sincerely hope that all member states will agree to sanction those responsible for blatant human rights violations. It’s really heartbreaking to see what is going on on the streets of Tbilisi and other cities.As the European Union, we have condemned this violence against peaceful protesters, media representatives, and politicians. This should stop immediately, and those who are responsible for those human rights violations should be punished,” he added.

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“If anybody thinks that Georgia will accept a Russian future, better look at the 13 th night in Tbilissi, Georgia  despite the threats of the defacto security Ministry announcing the “probable 2-3 death” in the coming days!”  #Georgiaprotests if anybody thinks that Georgia will accept a Russian future, better look at the 13 th night in Tbilissi 🇬🇪 despite the threats of the defacto security Ministry announcing the “probable 2-3 death” in the coming days ! — Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) December 11, 2024

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“I see the examples from Romania, but also other parts, that [the] Russians have really cracked the code on how to influence elections,” Kallas said at POLITICO’s P28 event Tuesday evening.Responding to a question about the influence of new technologies on democracy, Kallas said she is “really worried.”“Democracy is based on trust, and if you can’t trust elections anymore then how can you trust the outcome?” she asked.Kallas argued that today’s methods for deciding whether elections can be considered free and fair are outdated and don’t take into account new technologies used to influence elections.“I think we should take them very seriously,” she said.Salome Zurabishvili responded to this story and wrote: "YES! That is the lesson learnt in Georgia, attempted in Roumania and that is why the results of such elections should not be recognized and new elections with stricter rules should be supported and monitored by the Eu partners. Don’t let Russia use electoral war". #Georgiaprotests YES ! That is the lesson learnt in Georgia, attempted in Roumania and that is why the results of such elections should not be recognized and new elections with stricter rules should be supported and monitored by the Eu partners. Don’t let Russia use electoral war https://t.co/iCaFupMOLr — Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) December 11, 2024

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“What is not said is that I started by vigorously protesting the outrageous handshake between the EU ambassador and the de facto MFA… praising me does not compensate!” she said.EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski hosted President Salome Zourabichvili with Ambassadors of EU Member States on December 10.Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili met EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski on December 9.

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The statement said over 400 individuals had been detained, and more than 300 had reportedly suffered violence and ill-treatment since the outbreak of protests on October 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the delay, citing alleged “blackmail” from western powers.“The EU deplores these repressive actions and calls for the immediate release of all detained individuals”, it said, urging Georgian authorities to “end intimidation, political persecution, and alleged torture”.The Service further emphasised the need to uphold fundamental rights, including freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, in accordance with Georgia’s Constitution and its international obligations.The EU has also demanded credible investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment, calling on local and international organisations, as well as the Public Defender, to continue documenting human rights violations.Responding to the developments, the bloc announced the consideration of “additional measures” at the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. Photo: formula

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