Twenty-three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia have issued a joint statement demanding a unified opposition response to the October 26 general elections, which they describe as “stolen” due to “widespread fraud”.
The NGOs call for opposition parties to refuse to recognize the election results and to refrain from entering parliament, insisting that the ruling Georgian Dream party must not be allowed to gain legitimacy.
The organizations accuse the Georgian Dream party of orchestrating a “criminal scheme” involving voter intimidation, coercion, vote manipulation, and violence.
They argue that the results announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) do not reflect the true will of the people, declaring the elections were neither free nor fair. “These were not elections,” the statement reads, “because they were not secret, free, or fair.”
The NGOs also emphasized the importance of civil society’s role in exposing electoral fraud. They praised the efforts of observation missions and legal actions, which they claimed had provided crucial evidence of the violations. Despite these efforts, they assert that the international community will only respond with the same level of intransigence shown by Georgian citizens. “The democratic world does not congratulate the Georgian Dream on its victory,” the statement continued. “They do not recognize the elections as free and fair.”
The organizations also commended the resilience of Georgian voters, many of whom “risked losing their jobs”, social assistance, and security in order to cast their ballots in support of Georgia’s European future. Their efforts, the NGOs argue, prevented even greater vote manipulation.
The joint statement calls for opposition parties to coordinate their actions and demand new, free elections.
The NGOs also offered to provide the European Union’s technical mission with documented evidence of election violations and to meet with witnesses to support their claims.
The statement also highlighted the importance of continued coordination with Georgia’s President, who has pledged to use his international contacts to apply pressure for a new election. The NGOs stressed the need for peaceful mass mobilization and public protests, urging citizens to participate in actions aimed at restoring Georgia’s constitutional rights and holding new elections.
“The goal is to achieve new, fair, and free elections,” the statement concluded. “We must remain intransigent to the stolen election results, and our actions will determine how the international community responds.”
