Not even two months after the parliamentary vote on October 26, Georgia seems on the verge of an institutional crisis. With an open political conflict between the President of the Republic Salome Zourabichvili and the government led by Irakli Kobakhidze. All accompanied by street protests that are becoming more violent day by day. But what is happening in Georgia? Let’s rewind the tape.
The parliamentary elections in October saw the governing party triumph with 53.93% of the votes Georgian dreamled in parliament by the current Prime Minister Kobakhidze and out of it by the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. The party is one of the few in the Georgian political landscape not openly pro-European and pro-Atlantic. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Georgia sent humanitarian aid to Kievbut has refused to send military aid or impose economic sanctions on Russia. The President has a much more Euro-Atlantic orientation Zourabishvili (in Georgia the President of the Republic plays a more ceremonial role), which since the first days of the invasion has become the point of reference for the large portion of the Georgian population, residing mainly in the large cities, who yearn for entry into theEuropean Union and in the Born.
Just after the elections of October 26th Zourabichvili held a press conference in which he proclaimed the illegitimacy of the elections due to unspecified “Russian interference” and claimed to be the only institution in the country that is still independent. Thus began the street protests, which took place on a regular basis (although with low turnout) in the square in front of the Georgian Parliament building in Tbilisi.
Also in the days following the vote, a partial and random recount of the ballots was carried out by the Central Election Commission Georgian, which once again certified the victory of the governing party. Meanwhile, the President’s attacks continued Zourabichvili to the Georgian Dream party. Which was followed by the call for new elections and the continuation of street protests. It is worth remembering that up to this point the demonstrations had had medium-low turnout and had taken place peacefully.
Everything changed starting last Thursday. The new parliament was inaugurated on 28 November, where the absence of the opposition parties was noted and they decided to boycott the new legislature to try to remove any semblance of legitimacy. The new government team was also formed, with Irakli Kobakhidze recalled to perform the role of Prime Minister. On the same day the European Parliament passed a resolution in which it called for a return to the polls under international supervision and called for the European Commission to impose sanctions on Georgian government leaders. That same evening Kobakhidze announced in a press conference that negotiations with the EU regarding Georgian entry into the Union would be suspended until 2028, denouncing Europe’s attempts to instigate a revolution in the country.
The institutional crisis has in the meantime worsened, with the President Zourabichvili who has announced his intentions not to abandon his role as President at the end of his mandate (29 December) unless new parliamentary elections are held first. The government’s response was not long in coming: 14 December was set as the date for the election of the new President (who has no longer been elected by popular vote since 2017), while the Prime Minister stated that on 29 December the President Zourabichvili “he will have to go.”
Since November 28, street protests in Georgia have increased both in terms of the number of participants and the demonstration actions carried out: the continuous protests in front of Parliament have turned into “assaults on the palace of power”, with broken windows, defaced walls and attempts to break through the police security cordons and enter the building. The attempt to create permanent sit-ins via tent cities saw forced eviction by riot police. While just yesterday videos appeared in which the protesters used the infamous “bombs” for the first time Molotov against the police, who responded with water cannons.
Against the backdrop of the institutional crisis, the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Kaja Kallasdeclared that “the European Union is obviously at the side of the Georgian people in choosing their future: it is clear that the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators is not acceptable”. The use of the term “peaceful” appears questionable to say the least , anyway Kallas he continued: “we need to discuss how to proceed from here on because it is clear that the Georgian government is not respecting the will of the people when it comes to the European future. And I think we shouldn’t let them.” Two days ago the United States also suspended theirs strategic partnership with Georgia, citing as the reason the “repeated anti-democratic violations of the party Georgian dream“, also condemning the interruption of the Euro-Atlantic integration process.
In short, the next few weeks promise to be decisive for the future of the country.
