PM: Our opponents failed to consider that today’s state is strong. With strong state institutions, we can fully control situation

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Georgian Ambassador Zurab Khamashuridze “to discuss violence against Georgian citizens, opposition leaders, and journalists, and today’s hostile statement by the Georgian ruling party about Estonia.” “Today’s statements by the authoritarian government and the chairman of Georgia’s Parliament are unacceptable, hostile and full of lies,” Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said, elaborating on the background for summoning the Georgian ambassador. “It is regrettable that a the representatives of the country whose sovereignty, territorial integrity and progress towards Europe has been supported by Estonia for nearly 30 years indulges in hostile rhetoric about Estonia’s sovereignty, thereby repeating Russia’s talking points,” Tsahkna said. According to the Ministry’s press office, “The meeting with the ambassador also covered the parliamentary elections held in Georgia and the preceding and following period. International election monitoring organisations have confirmed the occurrence of widespread violations and the government of Estonia expressed its position in a statement by Minister Tsahkna.” At the meeting, it was stressed to the ambassador that “the brutal dispersal of protests on the streets of Georgia was unacceptable and ran counter to human rights.” “Under the rule of law, Estonia cannot tolerate this. We have made relevant statements and imposed sanctions in the form of entry bans on 25 politicians and senior officials who are responsible for the violence,” Tsahkna said. “The decision by the ruling party to halt Georgia’s European integration has shocked people and inspired them to take to the streets to express their views and they have the right to do so.”

“We did everything to prevent the scenario that occurred in Ukraine from happening in Georgia,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists. According to the PM, Georgian society is more experienced, and with its support, the government successfully prevented significant threats to the country. “This is an important message, a crucial warning. This is exactly what we’ve been working on for the past three years, especially the most recent three. We did everything to prevent the scenario that took place in Ukraine from happening here. It all began with Maidan in 2013, followed by the first war just days later, and then the second war. Today, our friendly nation, Ukraine, is devastated, with nearly a quarter of its population either fleeing the country or becoming internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have lost their lives. All of this resulted from society failing to exercise the necessary caution at that time. However, Georgian society is more experienced, and with its cooperation, we were able to avert significant threats and, above all, prevent war in our country,” said Irakli Kobakhidze.

“Our ambitious goal is to become a full-fledged member of the European Union by 2030,” said Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, in his speech at the opening of the Tskaltubo 500 substation. He emphasized that it is crucial for the country to meet the required standards of well-being by 2030. “This is our responsibility to our voters—more than 1,120,000 citizens of Georgia. It is a trust that must be fulfilled sincerely,” the Prime Minister stated. He also expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the implementation of this important project and wished them success.

The main Christmas tree and New Year’s illuminations were illuminated on Rustaveli Avenue. According to Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, “New Year is everyone’s favourite public holiday, and we will not allow anyone to take away the feeling of joy and happiness from our children and fellow citizens.” “Tbilisi will be the most beautiful New Year’s city, we will have many festive events during these days, and we will meet the new year, 2025, as we deserve – with new victories, hope for peace and development,” the mayor of Tbilisi declared.

The Electoral Assembly today will elect Georgia’s Sixth President through non-direct rule for the first time. The Georgian Dream (GD) party nominated and endorsed the candidacy of Mikheil Kavelashvili on the position. The registration in the Georgian Parliament kicked off at 9 a.m. and will complete at 2 p.m. The Central Election Commission (CEC) convened an Electoral Assembly of voters consisting of 300 members. The assembly will comprise 150 Members of Parliament, while the remaining members will include 20 representatives from the Supreme Council of the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic, 21 members from the Adjara Supreme Council, and the remaining 109 members will represent self-governance bodies, allocated in proportion to the party support garnered in the 2021-2022 elections. Each member of the assembly may vote for one candidate. In the first round of elections, a candidate must secure at least two-thirds of the votes from the entire assembly to be considered elected. If no candidate achieves this threshold, a second round of voting will occur, in which the candidate will be chosen by a simple majority. The president will serve a term of five years. According to the Constitution, an individual must be at least 40 years old and have resided in Georgia for 15 years to be eligible for the presidential candidacy. The inauguration of the new president will take place on December 29. Current President Salome Zourabichvili was elected as the fifth president of Georgia through a direct public vote on November 28, 2018, and was inaugurated on December 16.