The opposition parties that passed the threshold in the October 26 elections are sending a joint letter to the European Commissioner Josep Borrell and the ministers of foreign affairs of the European Union.
“Coalition for Change”, “Unity National Movement”, “Strong Georgia” and the party “Gakharia for Georgia” address the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, and the ministers of foreign affairs of the EU countries with several requests. In particular, suspend all official EU-level communications with the current government, including the cancellation of EU-Georgia Association Council meetings, suspension of high-level political dialogue, freezing of technical cooperation mechanisms, until Georgian Dream agrees to an international-led investigation of the process, as well as financial aid (approximately 120 million euros per year) to be suspended until the results of the investigation are known.
“Taking into account the upcoming discussion of the Council of Foreign Affairs of the European Union regarding the parliamentary elections in Georgia, we would like to share with you the position of the pro-European opposition parties regarding the current political situation in the country. Based on preliminary results and independent analysis, these four parties together received 52% of the popular vote, if the elections were free and fair,” the letter states.
Opposition parties claim that Euro-Atlantic integration is a unifying vision for Georgia, which represents a common aspiration for the country to return to Europe whole and free.
“However, the October 26 elections created an insurmountable obstacle for our European future, which directly contradicts the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership and the fundamental principles outlined in Georgia’s candidate status requirements. The scale of electoral fraud and manipulation was unprecedented. Independent exit polls by Edison Research and HarrisX, reliable reports and statistical analysis by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy and Transparency International Georgia reveal serious election interference: more than 120,000 violations of voting secrecy documented by international observers cases, more than 15,000 cases of fraudulent identification practices were observed, analysis of voter lists revealed approximately 50,000 cases of potential identity theft, 82% of election commission members had direct ties to the ruling party, systematic obstruction of more than 2,500 genuine observers at polling stations, unauthorized video surveillance in 60% of election precincts, which directly violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights,” the letter states.
According to the opposition parties, the elections held in Georgia reflected Russian-style tactics and undermined Georgia’s democratic will.
“The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, has described this as an “attempt of the Russian take-over”. She does not recognize the elections as legitimate and refuses to convene the first session of the Parliament provided for by the Constitution. This creates an unprecedented constitutional crisis, because Article 38 of the Constitution of Georgia requires the President to convene the first session of the Parliament. However, the ruling party plans to convene the meeting without her consent and threatens to start impeachment proceedings against her. Since the term of office of President Zurabishvili expires in a few weeks, there will be no general elections – the new President of Georgia will be elected by the Parliament and representatives of local councils. This will give the country’s de facto ruler, Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose documented business interests in Russia exceed $1 billion, a chance to replace her by appointing someone he trusts and take over the last independent state institution. The ruling party’s complete control over the judicial system was once again confirmed when the courts rejected 847 election-related complaints in the last few days; the average time for hearing the per case was only 12 minutes,” the letter states.
According to their explanation, pro-European and democratic parties refuse to recognize the legitimacy of these elections and to enter the parliament.
“The Acting Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, has already threatened that our parties will be declared unconstitutional. “With the full implementation of the so-called ‘foreign agent’ law, which mirrors Russia’s 2012 legislation and will affect 300+ civil society organizations, we may witness a very rapid deterioration of both the political and economic situation in Georgia,” the letter states.
According to the opposition parties, decisive action is needed from the international community, especially from the European Union.
“There are several immediate steps the EU can take to pressure the government led by Russian-made oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili if the government refuses to conduct an independent investigation into these elections:
1. Initiate an EU-led assessment/fact-finding mission to assess external and internal interference in the next 2024 election within 30 days. Initiate a comprehensive international evaluation of the 2024 elections through the EU Post-Election Mission (EFM), working in coordination with the OSCE/ODIHR to: Conduct a comprehensive investigation into electoral fraud and assess the integrity of electoral institutions.
2. To call on the Government of Georgia not to convene the session of the elected parliament on October 26 before the international assessment. Make it clear that this parliament, if convened, will have no legitimacy unless the elections are recognized as free and fair by the international community. This is in line with Article 38 of the Constitution of Georgia on the Legitimacy of the Parliament.
3. to clearly state that Georgia’s EU accession process has been suspended due to the government’s behavior regarding the parliamentary elections.
4. to suspend all official EU-level communications with the current government, including: Cancelation of the EU-Georgia Association Council meetings, suspending high-level political dialogue, freezing technical cooperation mechanisms until they agree to an internationally-led investigation into the process.
5. To suspend financial assistance to the government (approximately 120 million euros per year) until the results of the investigation are known. We propose: redistribution of aid funds to Georgian non-governmental organizations and independent media – establishment of direct support mechanisms for civil society organizations, creation of an emergency fund for independent media outlets under pressure, support for programs promoting democratic sustainability and electoral integrity,” the letter states.
The opposition parties state that their final demand is: new elections in 2025 in an improved electoral environment, with a politically balanced electoral administration and politically neutral state institutions.
“However, as a possible immediate reaction of the EU, as an intermediate step towards this goal, we believe that a clear call for an international evaluation of the elections and a suspension of all EU-related intergovernmental interactions would be a good way to support Georgia’s democratic future,” the letter states.
The letter is signed by: Nika Gvaramia, Tina Bokuchava, Mamuka Khazaradze, Berdia Sichinava.
Source: politics.einnews.com…
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