A month after the controversial general elections in Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, the country’s prime minister, has made clear his position regarding the European Union for the next four years of his mandate: he suspends accession negotiations until 2028 and resigns from the EU funding.
The Georgian Dream party, which has governed since 2012, revalidated its mandate on October 26 with 54% of the votes. A victory that – in the eyes of international observers, opposition parties and part of Georgian civil society – is fraudulent.
Brussels had already announced a few months ago that it was going to stop this aid after having approved the law “on transparency and foreign influence”, known to Georgian citizens as ““Russian law” due to its similarity to the laws in the neighboring country.
The position of the European Parliament regarding these elections is also clear: “Georgia’s parliamentary elections must be repeated under international supervision.” And not only that: the European Parliament wants to impose sanctions against the prime minister and the main officials of the new Government. “The policies followed by the Georgian Government are incompatible with the country’s prospects for Euro-Atlantic integration,” can be read in the press release.
In the resolution adopted by the European Parliament yesIt notes that on October 26 (election date) there was “voter intimidation, vote manipulation, interference with election observers and the media, and alleged tampering with electronic voting machines.” This resolution also calls for new general elections to be held within a year and to limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.
For its part, the United States has also recently suspended the strategic partnership with the Caucasus country, and the bloc formed by the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) has imposed sanctions on the all-powerful oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (who pulls the strings in Georgian Dream ), and several first-ranking officials of the Ministry of the Interior.
“These elections were challenged before the Constitutional Court of Georgia by the speaker of Parliament and also by some of its members. Until there is a resolution, these results are unconstitutional, as is the current Parliament. This Parliament is illegal because it directly violates the legislation and anything it does is illegal, which is why the presidential elections called for December 14 are not valid,” explains Nino Dolidze, executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). ) —electoral control body in Georgia—, as well as a political activist and expert on electoral and gender issues.
A month of protests
Since the elections on October 26, a significant part of Georgian citizens have taken to the streets to protest. Kobakhidze’s announcement to halt negotiations with the EU has only increased unrest and tension in the streets, where people have been gathering almost every day since the results were known.
In recent days, repression by state security forces has increased considerably and violent charges have occurred, both against protesters and journalists. There are dozens of detainees and both the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia and the Legal Assistance Network, which provide free legal assistance to those detained in the context of the protests, claim that they have been mistreated, both during the demonstrations and during detention. in the police stations.
On the main avenue of Tbilisi, named after the most important Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli, protesters wave Georgian and European flags and over the loudspeakers the soundtrack is always the same: the anthem of Georgia, that of the European Union ( Ode to Joy, by Beethoven), “Another brick in the wall”, by Pink Floyd, “Sakartveloa”, by Mgzavrebi (which means Georgia) or “I am Georgia”, by Achiki Guledani and Beqa Japaridze Shukvani. But if there is an official song of these protests, it is “Samshoblo”, which means homeland, performed by the band Yvela.
“We do not have any plan, but we are clear that we will resist and that we will occupy the streets to the extent we can; which is complicated because we all have a life and work. We cannot be here 24 hours,” explains Tekle Makashvili, 26 years old. “One of the problems of this country is that justice does not work as it should, so we do not trust it. There is a lot of evidence of the violation of rights during the elections,” he adds.
Part of the Georgian citizens is pessimistic, now that the Government has been formed, but they also do not want to give up the possibility “of showing the Government their disagreement with them”, says Tekle Makashvili, who trusts the EU and international allies to justice is done. “We are happy that Brussels aligns with us and, although I do not know the mechanisms or tools they can use against the Government, I hope they continue to support us [en referencia a los países de la UE]”.
However, Makashvili and an important part of those protesting these days are disappointed with the opposition parties, which continue with their particular internal disputes and have not been able to show an image of unity in recent weeks. “People are demanding unity, that’s for sure. And it is the president of Parliament, Salomé Zurabishvili, who is trying to create it,” says analyst and activist Nino Dolidze.
Irma Kiria is one of the election observers who was guarding one of the polling stations in Tbilisi. “We are here to protect our future as Europeans, because we are part of Europe and this Government is trying to steal this future from us and take us back to Russia. We don’t want that,” explains Kiria, 37 years old. “I saw groups of people waiting outside the polling stations, people bringing other people to vote… There were many irregularities. In addition, everyone could see our vote, and that is why we are here: to protect our right to fair elections.”
Kiria, who arrived in the Georgian capital with his entire family from Abkhazia (an area controlled by Russia) when he was six years old, refers to the black mole marked on the voting ballots that identified the option being voted on, an icon which has become a symbol of the protests.
Therefore, along with the European and Georgian flags, white flags with a black polka dot in the center also fly. “If we go home, we will lose the opportunity to change things,” Kiria concludes. Asked about the recently approved Foreign Agents Law, which represents a rapprochement with Russia, she assures that it is “a preparation for what would come with these elections.”
Doublespeak and uncertain future
“There is a lot of anger among the population, but there are also critical voices from different state organizations, ministries, from the National Bank and from the Public Registry. That is, there are critical voices against the current Government from within the Executive itself,” explains Jelger Groeneveld, an expert in the country and analyst at the Georgian Institute of Politics.
On December 1, for example, Davit Zalkaliani, Georgia’s ambassador to the United States and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgian Dream between 2018 and 2022, resigned. A few days before, the ambassadors of the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Lithuania and the acting ambassador to Italy.
“Another novelty compared to other protests is that they are not only taking place in the Tbilisi bubble, but have spread throughout the country,” says Groeneveld.
Even so, Groeneveld recognizes that there are areas, especially where the country’s main ethnic minorities (Armenians and Azeris) live, in which the population is more similar to Russia. “Rural areas are less pro-European, but still, the majority are in favor of EU integration,” he says. Analyst Nino Dolidze has the same opinion.
Talking to young and not so young, however, it is easy to see that the anger does not only come from the electoral results, their alleged manipulation and the announcement to postpone the race for EU accession: the law on transparency and influence foreign was the prelude to what is seen these days. “People are frustrated. When the Foreign Agents Law was approved there were large protests, but they had no effect or, at least, not on the Government, which did not take any step back. However, people have not accepted it and this contributes to increasing anger. Even citizens who do not pay much attention to political life are now getting involved,” says the expert.
Walking through the streets of Tbilisi there is something that catches your attention: although in recent years Georgian Dream has turned a corner and begun to look towards Russia, in many public buildings, including ministerial buildings, the Georgian and European flags fly. This contrasts with the speech of the party in Government in recent months, increasingly distant from the EU.
“In Georgia, if you want to come to power, you have to present yourself as a pro-European force,” says Groeneveld, for whom Georgian Dream has used doublespeak in the last two years that has worked very well. “It was never a completely pro-European party, but it has had a message close to Europe, from whom it has been approaching and distancing itself according to interests,” he adds.
Regarding this double discourse, Nino Dolidze is clear: “This is how propaganda works. Georgian Dream knows that in Georgia one cannot be pro-Russian because Georgia’s identity is against Russia. “We have been fighting them for centuries.”
Asked about the short-term future of the country, neither Jelger Groeneveld nor Nino Dolidze know what is going to happen: “What’s next? To be honest, I don’t know. I know that people will fight for the electoral repetition until the end. I don’t know what steps Georgian Dream will take. At the moment he is ignoring the demands of the population. I don’t know what will be next,” Dolidze finally concludes.
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