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Georgia’s pro-European incumbent president, Salome Zourabichvili, has called for fresh parliamentary elections given the turmoil her country faces as protests continued following the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.
Following the allegations of electoral fraud and the government’s departure from the path towards the EU, a way to a new vote must be found, Zourabichvili asserted.
“We only have one demand, which is based on the constitution after the elections were rigged,” she said at a meeting with opposition representatives. “The only way to achieve stability is through new elections, there is no other way.”
She also accused Georgia’s Constitutional Court of not even having set a date to consider the allegations of electoral fraud she had submitted.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the European Union’s openness to Georgia despite concerns over the country’s leadership shifting away from pro-European values as the country enters its fourth night of protests.
In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, von der Leyen expressed regret over the Georgian government’s decision to diverge from EU principles.
The comments follow days of violent protests that have rocked the country’s capital Tbilisi and other cities against the government’s pro-Russian course and decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.
“The door to the EU remains open,” she wrote. “The return of Georgia on the EU path is in the hands of the Georgian leadership.”
She also emphasised the EU’s solidarity with Georgian citizens seeking a European future.
Thousands of people gathered again in the capital Tbilisi and in a number of other Georgian cities for a fourth night on Sunday evening into Monday morning to continue their anti-government protests.

Police used water cannon and tear gas on the crowds, while some protesters launched fireworks at the police, according to Georgian media.
Official information on the number of injured and arrested overnight was not immediately available on Sunday.
On Saturday night, the police had reportedly arrested 107 people for hooliganism in the capital Tbilisi alone. Demonstrations are also taking place in other cities across Georgia.
The background to the protests is the parliamentary elections at the end of October, which were overshadowed by allegations of fraud and in which the ruling Georgian Dream party was declared the winner.
The opposition has not recognised the election results and opposition lawmakers have refused to accept their mandates.
The latest wave of protests kicked off after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that he would cancel EU accession negotiations until 2028. He has accused the EU of interference in Georgian matters and blackmail.

According to polls, most Georgians want their country to join the EU, a goal that is formally enshrined in the country’s constitution.
The conflict has also spread to an institutional level.
Several ambassadors have resigned in protest, while Zourabichvili, has declared her intention of resisting the change in government.
Zourabichvili, whose term is due to end in mid-December, has said that she will remain in office, since an “illegitimate parliament cannot elect a new president”.
Georgian law has been changed so that, for the first time, her successor will not be directly elected by the people, but is instead to be appointed by members of parliament and regional representatives.
The European Union could impose sanctions over the latest developments in Georgia, the EU’s new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

“It is clear that using violence against peaceful protesters is not acceptable, and [the] Georgian government should respect the will of the Georgian people, but also the Georgian constitution,” Kallas said during a visit to Kyiv.
“When it comes to European Union, then this clearly has consequences on our relationship with Georgia,” she said.
Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, took office as the EU’s top diplomat on Sunday.
Kallas mentioned sanctions and visa restrictions as possible steps, but said any consequences would be discussed and agreed together with EU member states.
“Clearly, [the] Georgian government is not respecting the will of Georgia people when it comes to the European future,” said Kallas, “and I think we shouldn’t let them slip away”.
EU sanctions can only be imposed if all EU countries agree. This is currently questionable, not least since Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently expressed support for Kobakhidze.


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Georgia president demands fresh parliamentary elections as protests continue

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: AP

Demonstrators in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Demonstrators help treat a man who was injured by tear gas. Photo: AP

A demonstrator uses firecrackers against police. Photo: AP

Police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators. Photo: AFP

Georgia sees third night of protests after EU talks suspended

Protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the government’s decision to delay European Union membership talks amid a post-election crisis, outside the Georgia Parliament in Tbilisi. Photo: AFP

Protesters clash with police during a demonstration outside Georgia’s parliament in Tbilisi. Photo: AFP

A protester launches fireworks towards police during a demonstration in Georgia. Photo: AFP

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili attends an opposition rally in Tbilisi. She says Georgia is becoming a quasi-Russian state. Photo: Reuters

Georgia suspends talks on joining EU for 4 years, triggering new protests

Protesters clash with Georgian police in Tblisi over the government’s EU application delay. Photo: Reuters

Supporters of Georgia’s opposition protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Georgian riot police deploy water cannon against demonstrators in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

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Posters ahead of the country’s December 1 parliamentary elections. Photo: AP

 Independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu speaks to the media after casting his vote in Romania’s parliamentary elections, in Mogosoaia, Romania on Sunday. Photo: AP

Romanian Prime Minister and former leader of the leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu casts his vote in Buzau, Romania on Sunday. Photo: Inquam Photos / Bogdan Buda via Reuters

A man casts his vote on the day of the parliamentary elections in Joita, outside Bucharest, Romania on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Save Romania Union (USR) leader Elena Lasconi casts her vote in Campulung, Romania on Sunday. Photo: Inquam Photos / Ovidiu Micsik via Reuters

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting in New York in September. Photo: via TNS

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Protests in Georgia spread and tensions rise after the government suspended talks on joining the European Union


Protests in Georgia spread and tensions rise after the government suspended talks on joining the European Union.


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