Georgia’s pro-Western president has said he will stay in office until new parliamentary elections are held, as protests continue over the government’s decision to put EU accession talks on hold.
Speaking to the BBC, Salome Zourabichvili, who has sided with the opposition, said the current parliament was “illegitimate” after allegations of fraud in last month’s election.
Zourabichvili said he would retain his role as president, even though the country’s newly elected parliament said it would choose his replacement on December 14.
Massive protests continue to erupt in the capital Tbilisi for the third night in a row on Saturday.
Riot police have been deployed around the country’s parliament, the epicenter of the ongoing protests, with officers using tear gas and water cannons.
Protests are also taking place in cities in Batumi, Kutaisi, Dzhugdidi and other Georgian regions.
“I am offering this stability for the transition, because these people in the streets are calling for new elections to restore this country and its European path,” Zourabichvili said.
Hundreds of civil servants have signed letters expressing their disapproval of the government’s decision to suspend negotiations with the EU, saying it is against Georgia’s national interests.
Georgian ambassadors to Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Italy also resigned.
EPA
ReutersSince 2012, Georgia has been governed by Georgian Dream, which critics say has sought to move the country away from the EU and closer to Russia.
The party claimed victory in last month’s election but opposition MPs are boycotting the new parliament, alleging fraud.
On Thursday, the European Parliament supported A resolutionIt describes the election as the latest phase of Georgia’s “deteriorating democratic crisis” and says the ruling party bears “full responsibility”.
It expressed particular concern over reports of voter intimidation, vote-buying and manipulation and harassment of observers.
After the resolution, Georgia’s prime minister said his government “decided not to put the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”
In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters began demonstrating outside the Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi on Thursday.
A group of public figures, writers and journalists are protesting outside the country’s public broadcaster in the capital Tbilisi, accusing it of being a mouthpiece of the country’s ruling party.
“Public broadcasters must be freed from Russian influence and regime pressure,” said writer and activist Lasha Bugadze.
“The public broadcaster covers all of Georgia and they’re brainwashing our population with propaganda, people who don’t know for sure what’s going on,” he said.
Four opposition coalitions and parties that won seats in last month’s parliamentary elections have refused to accept their mandates, citing widespread vote rigging, and have called for new elections under international supervision.
“Parties with the legitimate mandate of the Georgian people confront the illegal administration of the Georgian Dream and systematic violence against peaceful demonstrators and journalists,” read the statement.
The US condemned the “excessive use of force” in Georgia and called on all sides to ensure the protests remain peaceful.
“The Georgian people overwhelmingly support integration with Europe,” the State Department said in a statement.
Around 150 people were arrested following protests in the capital Tbilisi on November 29. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
Police repression intensified in the early hours of November 30 when they began chasing protesters, with reports of protesters being kicked and beaten with batons.
The country’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said 50 police officers were injured at the hands of “violent protesters who threw Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics, glass, stones at the police”.
Kobakhidze lashed out at European politicians who “threw a cascade of insults” at the Georgian government.
