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    • Pro-Russian party wins elections in Georgia; the president calls for demonstrations
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    Pro-Russian party wins elections in Georgia; the president calls for demonstrations

    Umito Posted on

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    The president of Western ally Georgia called for protests after a pro-Russian party won a weekend parliamentary election, amid allegations of voter intimidation and calls from the United States and their European allies to an investigation.

    In a speech on Sunday, President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognize the election results, which she said would not “legitimize Russia’s takeover of Georgia,” and called on citizens to protest in the capital Tbilisi.

    “We have not only witnessed but also been victims of what can only be described as a Russian special operation, a new form of hybrid warfare waged against our people and our country,” she said.

    Saturday’s elections saw the ruling Georgian Dream party secure a parliamentary victory with 53% of the votes.

    But European election observers have reported widespread reports of “pressure on voters, particularly on public sector employees” and “extensive monitoring of voters on polling day.”

    The elections “took place against a backdrop of deep-rooted polarization, in an environment marked by concerns about recently passed legislation and its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society,” the Organization for Security and Cooperation said in Europe in a press release. statement.

    “Reports of pressure on voters, particularly public sector employees” and “extensive monitoring of voters on Election Day, raised concerns about the ability of some voters to vote without fear of reprisal “.

    The European Union and the United States have called for an investigation into possible “irregularities”.

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a “thorough investigation into all reports of election-related violations” in a statement. statement on Sunday.

    Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Commission, said in a statement that Georgian authorities must “fulfill their duty to investigate and adjudicate election irregularities and allegations in a timely, transparent and independent manner.”

    Four other pro-Western Georgian opposition parties also questioned the legitimacy of the election and said Georgians should take to the streets – Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Coalition for Change party, called it ” constitutional coup,” and Tina Bokuchava of the United National Movement said. the election was “stolen.”

    More: Russians fleeing Putin’s war on Ukraine find a new home – and a moral dilemma

    Russian and Western political interests clash in Georgia

    Georgia, an Eastern European country of around 3.7 million people, has been at the heart of a bitter struggle between pro-Russian and pro-Western factions since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

    In 2008, war broke out when Russian-backed separatists attempted to declare independence for two regions of the country. Russia sent troops there and today these areas remain under Russian control.

    Georgia applied to join the European Union in March 2022 and obtained candidate status the following year. And polls show that Georgians have one of the highest rates of support for closer ties with Europe among former Soviet states.

    But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated the political division of the country. Since the start of the war, parts of Georgia became refuges for Russians fleeing political persecution for protesting the war or refusing to serve.

    More: Georgia defies EU and ‘returns to the past’ with Russian-style law that sparks massive protests

    “The enemies of the country must be banished”

    Protests broke out this spring after lawmakers passed a bill backed by the Georgian Dream which Zourabichvili called an “exact copy” of a 2012 Russian law that helped Russian President Vladimir Putin suppress political dissent and stifle democratic rights.

    By law, organizations that receive more than a fifth of their funding from outside the country must register as agents of foreign influence.

    Supporters of the bill said it was necessary to eliminate foreign interference and Western influence operations.

    Zourabichvili vetoed the bill, but his veto was overridden by the Parliament dominated by the Georgian Dream.

    At his last rally before the elections, Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili pledged to ban opposition parties.

    “Those who are the enemies of the people and the enemies of the country must be banned,” he said. said in an interview on Imedia TV last week.

    Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made a fortune in banking and the IT industry after Georgia’s break from the Soviet Union, campaigned on a platform to keep Georgia out of the war in Ukraine. Although the party says it supports Georgia’s candidacy for the European Union, European leaders say the party’s authoritarian tendencies are delaying its membership.

    Contributor: Reuters

    Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Contact her by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.

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