A president Georgia Salome Zourabisvili has said that the country’s parliament has no legitimacy after the October election, adn the president has indicated that she has no plans to step down when her term ends in December.
Zurabishvili told a press conference that the presidency is the only legitimate institution in the country.
The president made these statements among new protests that will take place today in the capital Tbilisi and other cities, protests broke out after prime Minister Irakli Kombakhitze announced days ago that Georgia was suspending accession negotiations with the European Union.
Georgia has been in a period of political turmoil following the controversial victory of Georgian Dream in parliamentary elections held in late October, even though irregularities have been alleged by the pro-Western opposition and president Zourabisvili. The opposition is boycotting the new parliament and there were demonstrations one after the other, which failed to pass the government’s budget.
Today, for the third consecutive night of demonstrations, thousands of pro-European demonstrators took to the streets of Tbilisi. Streets in the centre of the capital, near Parliament, were filled with protesters, some carrying EU and Georgian flags, AFP reporters said.
Political opponents accuse Georgian dream and its government of pushing the former Soviet republic away from EU membership and instead seeking rapprochement with Moscow. However, many Georgians see Russia, which invaded Georgia in 2008, as a threat to their country.
Georgia was awarded candidate status in December 2023 but then Brussels froze the process, which the government accused of seriously obstructing democracy. The government of Georgia, for its part, announced yesterday that it is indeed postponing the accession negotiations until the end of 2028.
After this decision, thousands of pro-European Georgians took to the streets to demonstrate as the police cracked down and made arrests.
Source: RES-MPE
News today:
mitsotakis: I will be a candidate for Prime Minister in 2027, I have not yet decided on the person of the President of the Republic
Thessaloniki Metro: Open until 02:00 in the morning, because of the crowds
Actress Chrysanthi Douzi has died