Georgia’s president calls for new elections as protests erupt again

Georgia’s pro-Western president has said he will remain in office until new parliamentary elections are held, as protests continue over the government’s decision to suspend EU accession talks.

Speaking to the BBC, Salome Zourabichvili, who sided with the opposition, said the current parliament is “illegitimate” after allegations of fraud in last month’s election.

Zourabichvili said he will keep his position as president, even though the newly elected parliament in the country says it will elect him on December 14.

Massive protests in the capital continue to erupt for the third night in a row on Saturday in the capital Tbilisi.

Riot police have been deployed at the country’s parliament, which is the center of ongoing protests, with police using tear gas and water.

Demonstrations continue in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi and other regions of Georgia.

“I offer this stability of the transition, because what these people in the streets want is a call for new elections to restore this country and its European path,” said Zourabichvili.

Hundreds of civil servants have signed letters showing their opposition to the government’s decision to suspend negotiations with the EU, saying that this is against the needs of the country of Georgia.

Georgian embassies in Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Italy also resigned.

Since 2012, Georgia has been ruled by Georgian Dream, a group that critics say has tried to move the country out of the EU and closer to Russia.

The party claims to have won last month’s election, but opposition MPs are boycotting the new Parliament, accusing it of fraud.

On Thursday, the European Parliament supported a the solutiondescribing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “growing democratic crisis” and saying the ruling party is “fully responsible”.

It expressed particular concern about reports of voter intimidation, vote buying and manipulation, and harassment of observers.

After this decision, the prime minister of Georgia said that his government “decided not to raise the issue of joining the European Union in the process until the end of 2028”.

In response, thousands of EU protesters began demonstrating outside the Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi on Thursday.

A group of people, writers and journalists were also protesting outside a public station in the capital Tbilisi, accusing them of being the mouthpiece of the country’s ruling party.

Activist writer Lasha Bugadze said: “Public radio must be freed from the influence of the Russian people and the oppression of the state.

“The public broadcaster is covering all of Georgia and they’re driving our people away with propaganda, people who may not be sure what’s going on,” he said.

Four coalitions of opposition parties and parties that won seats in last month’s parliamentary elections but refused to take their mandate citing widespread vote rigging issued a joint statement, calling for new elections under international supervision.

“Parties with the legitimate authority of the people of Georgia will face the illegitimate regime of the Georgian Dream and organized violence against peaceful protesters and journalists,” the statement read.

The US condemned the “excessive use of force” in Georgia and called on all parties to ensure that the protests remain peaceful.

“Georgians strongly support integration with Europe,” the State Department said in a statement.

About 150 people were arrested following the November 29 protests in the capital Tbilisi. The police used water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.

In the morning of the 30th of November, the police operation intensified as they started chasing the protesters, it was reported that the protesters were kicked and beaten with sticks.

The country’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said 50 police officers were injured at the hands of “violent protesters who threw Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics, glass, and stones at the police”.

Kobakhidze also criticized European politicians for “throwing a lot of insults” at the Georgian government.