UNM member urges election boycott, slams fifth President’s ‘unclear stance’

Ana Tsitlidze, a member of the United National Movement opposition party, on Monday criticised fifth President Salome Zourabichvili for “failing” to “explicitly urge” citizens to boycott the upcoming local elections, which she described as part of a regime-controlled “special operation.”

Speaking after a public rally the previous day, Tsitlidze claimed the Georgian citizens “don’t need toasts” or symbolic gestures in the struggle against what she called the [Bidzina] Ivanishvili-led regime. Instead, she demanded clarity and a firm stance.

“Without any pretense, Salome Zourabichvili should have told citizens that participating in the so-called elections is inadmissible and means playing by Ivanishvili’s rules,” Tsitlidze said, referring to the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and its honorary chair.

She further noted an active boycott campaign was “essential” to intensifying public protest and delegitimising the electoral process. “This is what I - and I am sure many who were at the rally yesterday - expected from Zourabichvili,” she added.