“Under President Salome Zurabishvili, the elections on October 26 “did not take place”, “the country is at risk of destabilization”, related to dual power”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“This (doing) is 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. I want to wish them and myself that at least a few judges in this Constitutional Court show that there are worthy judges in this country,” she said.
According to the president, the elections on October 26 “did not take place”, “the country is at risk of destabilization” related to the dual power. She believes that it is necessary to solve systemic problems, and then hold new elections.
“The country is in a very serious situation, and I will say more – the country is facing serious dangers. One such threat is destabilization, which can lead to dual power and deepening polarization. As we observe every day, this is facilitated by the extremely aggressive propaganda of the government and its supporters. Political instability can also be accompanied by external destabilization caused by external factors. The threat of such destabilization increases when a country instead of close relations with its partners chooses isolation, which is characteristic of the current government. At the same time, we are dealing with an economic and financial crisis that is on our doorstep with all the consequences that follow,” she says.
Zurabishvili says that the former government and parliament should continue the work. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the first session of the new parliament is appointed by the president. However, the government and “Georgian Dream” state that in any case they will hold the first meeting on November 25.
The opposition has been holding mass protests in Tbilisi every day since the pro-Moscow Georgian Dream party, which has been in power for the past 12 years, declared victory with 54 percent of the vote.
Georgia’s opposition leaders claim that the results were falsified. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili and international observers, including the OSCE, have also expressed concern, noting cases of voter intimidation, vote bribery and other violations that indicate, in particular, “democratic regression” in the country. Against the background of these accusations, the European Union and the United States called for a thorough investigation of election violations.
All four opposition parties declared their refusal to participate in the work of the new parliament.
The ruling Georgian Dream party denies election fraud and accuses opposition parties and non-governmental organizations of a targeted campaign of slander and misinformation.