Georgian president and opposition reject election results
The pro-Western President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, declared on Sunday evening that she does not recognize the results of the country's parliamentary elections. She announced a protest for Monday in downtown Tbilisi.
2:01 PM EDT, October 27, 2024
Zurabishvili remarked at a press conference after meeting with opposition leaders that Georgian voters were victims of a Russian "special operation."
The protest announced by the president is scheduled to begin on Monday on Rustaveli Avenue.
Saakashvili: Time for large protests
None of the opposition parties should accept parliamentary seats following Saturday's elections in Georgia, former President Mikheil Saakashvili declared on Sunday.
- Of course, no one from the opposition should enter parliament! This is not a time to hang our heads in shame because they deceived us. This is a time for major protest actions to show the world that we are fighting for freedom and are a nation that will not accept injustice - appealed the former president, who is serving a prison sentence for abuse of power, a charge he and his supporters consider politically motivated.
The party founded by Saakashvili, the United National Movement, announced that it does not recognize the results of Saturday's elections and, accordingly, will not accept parliamentary seats. The opposition Coalition for Change also declared that it renounces the seats it officially won in the elections because it does not want to legitimize them.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, commented on these statements, saying that if the opposition does not enter the parliament, then "there will at least be a normal working environment" and there will be no "sabotage from the agency." He called on the opposition "to keep their word."
