The U.S. Embassy in Georgia and the EU Delegation to Georgia released a joint statement regarding the mass protest scheduled for November 8 at central Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.

“We call upon all Georgians who plan to exercise their right to assembly on 8 November to do so peacefully and with respect to COVID-19 precautions, and call on the Georgian authorities to assist in providing for such an environment.

With regard to the ongoing electoral process, we encourage political parties to continue addressing allegations of electoral violations by using the legal means within the democratic processes that Georgia has built over the past 20 years.

A credible and inclusive legal process for remedying substantiated electoral violations is necessary to ensure that the will of the voters is respected, that public confidence in the electoral process is assured, and to ensure the public can accept the election results as legitimate. We stand ready to contribute as required to achieving these objectives.

Georgia needs a parliament able to play its role to address the immediate challenges of economic turmoil, a pandemic and regional tensions, as well as to enact additional reforms to improve the country’s democratic, legal and electoral processes for the future. All political sides need urgently to take responsibility for ensuring such an outcome,” reads the statement.