Sagnol announces squad – Guliashvili debuts, Kvirkvelia returns, Azarov still absent

Opposition leaders called on demonstrators outside Parliament to send evidence of alleged election irregularities. “A crime of this scale cannot be left unpunished,” declared Levan Tsutskiridze, a member of the Strong Georgia coalition. “We refuse to enter what we consider a rigged parliament, and we demand a full investigation.” “We are gathering evidence of fraud, intimidation, and voter bribery around the clock,” Tsutskiridze added. “Our contact information is public – if you have relevant information, please share it with us. This battle is not over.”

Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister, the country holding the EU Council presidency, arrived in Tbilisi on Monday. First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili and the Hungarian Ambassador to Georgia greeted him at the airport. According to the government’s press office, the official welcoming ceremony will be held at the government administration on October 29, with PM Kobakhidze hosting his Hungarian colleague. The duo will make a joint press point following face-to-face and extended meetings. The Hungarian delegation includes FM Péter Szijjártó, Economy Minister Márton Nagy, Finance Minister Mihály Varga, State Secretary János Mate and other officials.

“This is a pivotal moment for Georgia,” stated three members of the European Parliament in their recent statement. The authors of the statement include hair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs David McAllister, the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus Nils Ušakovs and the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Sergey Lagodinsky. The statement expresses hope that the post-election period will be peaceful and democratic, emphasizing the need for immediate steps to return Georgia to its path toward EU integration. “On Saturday 26 October, Georgia held parliamentary elections following a highly polarised and tense election campaign and among concerns about the country’s democratic backsliding. Georgian people have once again showed their engagement and commitment to democracy, not only by using their right to vote in large numbers but also by active participation in observing these elections and reporting irregularities. According to the preliminary findings and conclusions of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) International Election Observation Mission, which included the European Parliament election observation delegation, these elections were marred by reports of pressure on voters, uneven playing field, polarized media environment and political instrumentalization. Among irregularities reported by international observers, there were incidents of violence, vote buying, double-voting, media and observers’ removal, intimidation of voters inside and outside the voting stations. All reported violations must be investigated and addressed under the appropriate complaints and appeals procedures without due delay. This is a pivotal moment for Georgia. These were the first elections since the country was granted EU candidacy status in 2023, a process de facto halted following the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law. Georgian people have continuously demonstrated that they want democratic Georgia in the European Union. We hope that the aftermath of the elections will be peaceful and democratic and that immediate steps will be taken to bring Georgia back on the EU path, fulfilling the aspirations of Georgians. We will continue closely monitoring developments in Georgia and supporting efforts aimed at strengthening democratic institutions, ensuring free and fair elections, rule of law, and advancing human rights. We stand ready to assist Georgia as it navigates this critical period and works to secure a democratic and prosperous future for all its citizens,” the MEPs stated.

“Our prediction that the opposition was preparing not for the elections but for the day after has proven true,” stated Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili. According to Papuashvili, it has been confirmed that the opposition refuses to acknowledge the people’s will and does not intend to accept the mandate given by the people. “The Central Election Commission has completed the vote count entirely. The election results are now clear. Georgian Dream won by almost 900,000 votes over the next party that placed second in these elections. This marks a significant victory for the Georgian people, who have once again echoed the steps they took in 2012. They faced the risks and threats that were a reality before the 2012 elections and eliminated these threats, while in these elections there was a risk of history repeating itself. Although I didn’t have great hope, I still had a glimmer of hope in my heart that I wouldn’t have to come out like in 2020 and expose lies. But our prediction about the opposition preparing not for the elections but for the day after has proven true. The opposition and several affiliated non-governmental organizations were occupied with exactly this throughout this period, and what we said has been confirmed. It has been proven that they don’t want to acknowledge the people’s will, they don’t intend to accept the mandate given by the people. It has been confirmed that they wouldn’t deviate from this logic. In 2012, it took them several days to acknowledge defeat. In 2016, it took them several weeks to acknowledge defeat. In 2020, they didn’t acknowledge it at first and it took them several months to accept defeat, and now they’ve entered the same river again, though, of course, they’ll have to come to the same acknowledgement here too. “We are all too familiar with the disinformation surrounding elections. In the past, the opposition focused on manipulating ballots and protocols, which was evident when they exploited these issues. However, we’ve addressed this concern with the introduction of an electronic system. Now, the opposition has shifted its tactics to new forms of manipulation,” said Shalva Papuashvili.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed the government meeting, stating that opposition parties were dissatisfied with the OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment of the elections. “The role of international observers was crucial during the elections, and I especially thank all observers, particularly the OSCE/ODIHR, which played a key role. The OSCE/ODIHR was the main monitoring mission,” Kobakhidze said. He added that the opposition opposed the mission’s findings because they disagreed with its conclusions. “Our opponents frequently assert that we should always accept criticism from our European partners. However, in this instance, they directly opposed the OSCE/ODIHR mission because they were unhappy with the summary report. I even observed that opposition TV channels abruptly cut off the live broadcast of the press conference, demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the positive assessment of the elections,” Kobakhidze remarked.