The former Prime Minister and Chairman of the For Georgia Party, Giorgi Gakharia, has called on the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia, particularly the ambassadors of the USA and EU member states, to refrain from attending the first session of the Parliament of the 11th convocation, thereby denying Georgian Dream the opportunity to gain legitimacy.
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According to Giorgi Gakharia, tens of thousands of citizens are protesting stolen votes in the streets of Georgia.
“The heads of your states and the European Union emphasize that, to legitimize the elections, a comprehensive independent investigation must be conducted. Based on this, I would like to ask you not to attend the first session of the Parliament of the 11th convocation, thereby protecting the will of the citizens of Georgia. This will ensure that future elections are not stolen and will safeguard the essence and meaning of future elections. Let us protect the aspirations of Georgian citizens, allowing them to peacefully change the government through democratic processes,” Gakharia addressed the diplomats.
Giorgi Gakharia stated that the October 26 elections were “systematically falsified” and highlighted three main factors: violations of vote secrecy, the formation of election commissions under the influence of Georgian Dream, and the systematic misuse of citizens’ personal data.
“A very simple step could prevent this crisis and help bring the country out of it: Georgian Dream could simply publish the list of citizens who participated in the elections, which would address all questions. Instead, they did the opposite. They initiated an artificial, ‘fake’ investigation, and the prosecutor’s office seized the equipment storing this information.
Today, as the country faces an undeniable crisis of legitimacy and as every Georgian citizen believes the elections and votes were stolen, I once again, with great respect, appeal to the ambassadors accredited in our country not to attend the first session of the Parliament of the 11th convocation. This would deny the Georgian Dream the opportunity to manipulate, speculate, and gain legitimacy.
On the other hand, I appeal to every citizen of Georgia and our supporters to raise their voices in protest on the day of the first parliamentary session. Together, let us demonstrate that we do not consider these elections fair or democratic and that we do not accept the results until a full, independent, and neutral investigation is conducted and all legitimate questions from Georgian citizens and our international partners are fully addressed,” Gakharia said during today’s briefing.
The first session of the Parliament, convened by Georgian Dream, is scheduled for Monday, November 25.
As per the summary protocol of the Central Election Commission, Georgian Dream won 53.93% of the votes in the parliamentary elections, securing 89 out of 150 mandates in the legislative body. The Coalition for Change received 11.03% and 19 mandates, Unity - National Movement garnered 10.17% and 16 mandates, Strong Georgia obtained 8.81% and 14 mandates, while the Gakharia for Georgia party achieved 7.78% and 12 mandates.
Only Georgian Dream accepts the final data from the CEC. The opposition parties and the president, Salome Zourabichvili, believe the elections were rigged. Zourabichvili and 34 opposition MPs are demanding the annulment of the election results, calling them unconstitutional.