The United States has appealed to the Georgian authorities to conduct a full investigation into the irregularities recorded in the October 26 parliamentary elections in Georgia. According to statement U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the United States is urging Georgian political leaders to correct flaws in the electoral process and ensure compliance with democratic standards.
Blinken emphasized that numerous international and local observers noted a number of serious violations, including misuse of resources, bribery of voters and intimidation by the ruling party. This, according to the Secretary of State, created unequal conditions and undermined public confidence in the voting results. Observers, although they acknowledged that election day in Georgia was generally incident-free, recorded facts of violence and other violations, which, according to the United States, do not allow calling these elections completely free and fair.
Anthony Blinken also emphasized that Washington expects Georgia’s leaders to respect the rule of law and to remove existing legislation that undermines basic freedoms. He noted that Georgia’s desire for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, enshrined in its constitution, requires full protection of citizens’ rights and free activity of civil society.
At the parliamentary elections on October 26, a struggle took place between the pro-Russian ruling party “Georgian Dream” and pro-European opposition forces. Despite the initial statements of the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili about confidence in the victory of the opposition, according to official data, “Georgian Dream” received more than 54% of the votes. However, some of the opposition parties did not recognize the election results and announced protest actions.
On October 27, Georgian Prime Minister Iraklii Kobakhidze announced that the government would be formed, despite opposition protests, while President Zurabishvili publicly did not recognize the election results and called on citizens to actively protest.
