President Salome Zourabichvili pushes for new elections, ready to meet GD Honorary Chair

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili briefed the media from the Atoneli Presidential Palace following the meeting with political parties, non-government organizations and civil activists.

President said she had held the meeting in a “coordinated format” to decide “where we are” and how to act forward following the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR on the 2024 parliamentary elections.

According to President Zourabichvili, the report is “significant for our foreign partners, who are still pending their decision on Georgia.”

The President said the OSCE/ODIHR report mentioned various gross violations, irregularities and fraud which had a “negative impact on the trust of people toward elections and human rights” and that the truth was “something else” than what Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze communicated for society.

President explained that the OSCE gives no political assessment to the legitimacy of elections within its mandate but the report was sufficient for technical evaluation. She urged for the appointment of new elections as the “short” way to resolve the current crisis.

“There is no way out of the crisis but new elections, this is the only solution and no other versions are feasible amid no trust in elections, government, which tells lies to retain their seats,” she said.

President Salome Zourabichvili challenged the Honorary Chair of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili for a meeting within what she tagged as the “outlined attack strategy.”

“We don’t have much time since the Georgian Dream adopts new laws in an expedited manner leading us towards the Russian totalitarian regime and we have to force Ivanishvili to appoint new elections before the country collapses,” she said.

The President concluded by saying they she would join the public protest at Rustaveli Avenue on December 22.

“I will be with people outside the parliament at 9 p.m. tomorrow and address those, who took these protests abroad. New election is the demand of the whole country,” she stated.