Georgia: President Zurabishvili does not recognize the result of the parliamentary elections –

The president of Georgia Salome Zourabisvili announced tonight that it does not recognize the results of Saturday’s parliamentary election, claiming that its country was the victim of a “special operation” by Russia.

The pro-Russian ruling Georgian Dream party reportedly won those elections with 54%. Opposition parties dispute the result and observers noted significant irregularities.

Zurabishvili said the authorities deprived citizens of the right to choose and called on Georgians to protest the outcome.

Earlier, the pro-Western former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is now in prison and a fierce critic of the government, called on his supporters to “mass demonstrations” after the ruling party’s victory in the parliamentary elections.

The opposition considers that they “stolen” the victory in these elections.

“The time has come for mass demonstrations. We need to show the world that we are fighting for freedom and we are a people that does not tolerate injustice,” Saakashvili said in a Facebook post.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, called on Georgia’s electoral authorities to “investigate” the “irregularities” in the election.

“We call on (…) the Central Electoral Commission and other competent authorities to perform their duty and investigate quickly, transparently and independently” allegations of irregularities in the electoral process, he wrote in a post on Platform X, referring to the preliminary analysis of international observers. “These alleged irregularities should be clarified and dealt with seriously,” he added.