Mass Protests After Election Irregularities in Georgia: EU Protests, Sweden Cuts Ties, Canada Reviews Cooperation

Amid massive protests following election irregularities in Georgia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Georgian people, who are fighting for democracy, have the right to know what happened during the parliamentary elections. She wrote about this on X (Twitter).

‘They have the right to know what happened this weekend. He has the right to see violations investigated quickly, transparently and independently. Because free and fair elections are at the heart of European values,’ she stressed.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili refused to recognise the parliamentary elections, the results of which she called ‘totally rigged’ and ‘a new form of hybrid warfare tested on the Georgian people’.

‘I do not recognise these elections. These elections cannot be recognised. It is the same as recognising Russia's entry here, Russia's conquest of Georgia. This is not why I came to the country. Our ancestors did not live for this, and we will not accept it. No one can deprive Georgia of its European future,’ Zurabishvili said.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties with Russia, arrived in Georgia without an EU mandate. He stated that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were free and fair and ‘no one dared’ to claim that they were ‘undemocratic’.

At the same time, the Swedish government said it had suspended all direct cooperation with the Georgian authorities, but funding for NGO projects would continue.

Canada has also expressed concern about the problems in Georgia's parliamentary elections, as pointed out by international observers, and plans to review its relations with the country's authorities.

Following the parliamentary elections in Georgia, where the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream officially won, international observers pointed to pressure and intimidation of voters.

Opposition parties in Georgia said early on Sunday morning that they would not recognise the results of the 26 October elections, which were ‘stolen’ by the ruling party, and called for protests.