"When there is no trust in elections, no trust in the government, and when the government resorts to lies to consolidate its position, it means everything is over. The only way out is through new elections," said the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, during a briefing at the Orbeliani Palace following a meeting with representatives of opposition parties and civil society.
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Salome Zourabichvili once again addressed the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the elections, stating, “We are truly at a new stage today.” She assessed that the observation mission’s findings “reflect all the violations, forms, and methods of fraud that we had previously noted.”
“The conclusion reached is entirely sufficient to technically assess these elections as having a negative impact on the electoral process and public trust. [...] This forms the basis for us, collectively, to move to the next stage of our fundamental demand: the calling of new elections. Under these conditions, there is no other political solution to the crisis than holding new elections. In every country that has faced such a crisis, this has been the only solution.
[...] Today, we have outlined an offensive strategy, covering all directions - working with our foreign partners, pursuing legal avenues domestically - so that we are fully prepared and do not find ourselves unready if elections are suddenly called. All these aspects must be taken into account.
We must know where we are headed and that the path ahead is short. There is not much time left. The Georgian Dream is rushing to adopt new laws at an accelerated pace to rapidly transition us into a fully Russian-style regime. We will not allow this.
We must exert all possible pressure, both domestically and internationally, to compel Mr. Ivanishvili - who is the sole decision-maker - to act before his system completely collapses. He must decide to call new elections. Constitutional mechanisms for this are straightforward and require minimal negotiation,” Zourabichvili stated.
The president also expressed readiness to meet with the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream. “I know many people from outside will be willing to step in and apply pressure on him,” she said.
Salome Zourabichvili announced that she will attend a rally in front of the parliament tomorrow at 9:00 PM, where she plans to deliver a speech.
