Georgian opposition demands new internationally supervised elections

Leaders of Georgian opposition parties on Monday unveiled an action plan during the rally in Tbilisi, demanding a repeat parliamentary elections supervised by international actors rather than the domestic election administration.

The protest, organized by President Salome Zourabichvili and opposition parties, followed the President’s call on Sunday for the public to voice their stance on what they are calling illegitimate election results.

Giorgi Vashadze, a member of the Unity -National Movement opposition alliance, outlined key points of the plan, emphasizing that the opposition did not recognize the legitimacy of the recent parliamentary elections held on October 26.

“First, both you and we recognize these elections as illegitimate. Second, we are not going to enter this parliament, and if we do not enter, we will close the lists,” Vashadze declared. He further insisted on new elections managed by an international administration, adding that no negotiations would take place unless they pertained to holding fresh elections.

According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission (CEC), the ruling party Georgian Dream secured 53.93% of the votes, which opposition leaders claim were marred by alleged fraud. Key parties, including the Unity – National Movement, the Strong Georgia coalition, the Coalition for Changes, and Gakharia for Georgia, have collectively denounced the results.