First appearance on Fox: Former Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that her country is currently undergoing Russian-style elections, that the country does not have a reliable and legitimate parliament, and that Georgia is seeking to join the European Union. He said it was a further blow to a long-standing struggle. .
“The election was rigged and we now have an illegal parliament,” Ghirauri told Fox News Digital.
For many in the fight for democracy in Georgia, the election victory of the Russian-backed Georgian Dream was undoubtedly a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin seeks to thwart neighboring Georgia's Western ambitions in critical election
Then-Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri speaks at a press conference in Tbilisi on August 21, 2009. (ZVIAD NIKOLAISHVILI/AFP via Getty Images)
“President Putin was praising the Georgian government's stance against European pressure within minutes of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement about suspending Georgia's European integration process,” Girauri said.
“Everything seems very orchestrated,” the former prime minister added.
Demonstrators wave European Union flags at a rally outside parliament to protest the government's decision to suspend EU accession negotiations for four years in Tbilisi, Georgia, early Saturday morning, November 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze) (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Girauri, who served as Prime Minister of Georgia from 2009 to 2012, said that Russian influence can be seen in every aspect of current events in Georgia. Former prime minister says Russian President Vladimir Putin has a recent pattern of interfering in the affairs of neighboring countries, leading to Romania's Constitutional Court's decision to invalidate the country's presidential election due to Russian involvement. He also cited efforts to undermine Moldova's democracy by sowing seeds. Chaos in the political system.
“So there is a very similar scenario, it was written in Moscow, it was played in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and now it is being played in Georgia,” Girauri said.
Thousands of Georgians have been battling subzero temperatures and authorities for almost a month since the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party declared victory in the election and halted efforts to join the European Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks by phone during his annual year-end press conference in Moscow, Russia, on December 19, 2024. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
More than 460 people have been detained since peaceful protests erupted on November 29, and around 300 of them have reported severe beatings and other abuse, according to Amnesty International.
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Girauri also said that Georgian President Salome Zurabichvili should not resign but should remain in office. Zurabichvili's presidential term ends on December 29, and the new Georgian Dream majority in parliament has already appointed her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili.
“Georgia's president, Salome Zurabichvili, is the only legitimate institution that Georgia currently has,” Girauri said.
Demonstrators gather at the parliament building during a protest against the Foreign Influence Bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 28, 2024. Georgia's parliament has overridden the president's veto of a “foreign agents” bill that had sparked concerns in the West and sparked mass protests. For weeks. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Zurabichvili, a pro-European advocate, claimed the election was fraudulent and that parliament had unlawful powers and no power to appoint a replacement. Kavelashvili, who supports Georgian Dream, is critical of the West, which the opposition sees as an extension of Georgian Dream's ambitions to move the country closer to Russia and away from European ambitions.
President Zurabichvili said October's parliamentary elections were effectively stolen and he has no intention of resigning. On Sunday night, thousands of people gathered to hear Zurabichvili's speech at a rally on Rustaveli Street in central Tbilisi, where the president called on the leaders of Georgia's Dream to negotiate and hold new elections. Ta.
In this photo published by the Georgian Presidential Press Office, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili speaks at a joint press conference with the foreign ministers of the Baltic and Nordic countries during a visit to Georgia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Georgian Presidential Press Office, via AP)
“I am ready to take the time to find a solution on how to schedule the election, but a decision must be agreed by the 29th,” the president wrote on X.
Zurabichvili has become the de facto leader of the protest movement, but her decisions could cause further turmoil once her presidential term officially ends on the 29th.
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Georgia's current prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has proposed that Zurabichvili be imprisoned if he does not resign as president.
Georgian Dream, a Russian-backed party, declared victory shortly after voting closed on election night, with about 54% of the vote. The opposition party's joint campaign received only 38% of the vote. Reuters reported Georgian Dream says it remains committed to integration with the West and a pragmatic policy toward neighboring Russia.
Radio Free Europe reported “This is a referendum between war and peace, immoral propaganda and traditional values. It's a referendum between the country's dark past and its bright future,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said after voting in October's general election. said.
Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze attends a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, November 28, 2024 (Irakli Gedenidze)
Many opposition parties reject Georgian Dream's claimed victory and say the election was stolen and fraudulent.
Georgia's president and many Western observers acknowledged that the election results were marred by irregularities such as fraud and ballot stuffing.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement that the election was “characterized by a tense environment and multiple incidents of physical altercations and widespread intimidation of voters.” European Council President Charles Michel has called for an investigation into the fraud allegations.
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Many Georgians have a strong desire to join the EU, with opinion polls showing up to 83% support such a move. Since Georgia became a candidate for membership in 2023, the Georgian Dream Party has stalled Georgia's efforts to join the EU. The EU then put Georgia's accession process on hold after a controversial “foreign agent” law that required the participation of citizens, non-governmental organizations, media organizations and others. Civil society organizations that receive 20% or more of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents with the Ministry of Justice.
Following the passage of the pro-Kremlin Foreign Agents Act, the United States imposed sanctions and travel bans on Georgian officials who voted in favor of the law and on security services responsible for cracking down on dissent. The State Department also suspended $95 million in aid to the government.
Reuters contributed to this report.
