FIRST ON FOX: The former Prime Minister of Georgia, Nika Gilauri, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the country now has Russian-styled elections, and the country has no credible or legitimate parliament, adding another blow to Georgia’s long struggle to join the European Union.
“The elections were rigged, and we have an illegitimate parliament right now,” Gilauri told Fox News Digital.
For many in Georgia’s battle for democracy, the Russian-supported Georgian Dream’s election victory was no doubt a win for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“Putin was praising Georgia’s government on its standing against European pressure just within minutes of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement on stopping the European integration process of Georgia,” Gilauri said.
“It all looks very much orchestrated,” the former prime minister added.
Gilauri, who was prime minister of Georgia from 2009 to 2012, said that you can see Russia’s hands all over the events taking place in Georgia right now. The former prime minister said Russian President Vladimir Putin has a recent pattern of interfering in the affairs of its neighbors, citing a decision by the Romanian constitutional court annulling the country’s presidential election because of Russian involvement, as well as efforts to undermine Moldovan democracy by sowing chaos in its political system.
“So, we have a very similar scenario, and it was written in Moscow. It was done in Romania, in Moldova, in Ukraine, and it is being done in Georgia right now,” Gilauri said.
Thousands of Georgians have battled freezing temperatures and the authorities for nearly a month since the pro-Russia Georgian Dream party claimed victory in elections and halted efforts to join the European Union.
More than 460 people have been detained since peaceful protests broke out on Nov. 29, with around 300 reporting severe beatings and other ill-treatment, according to Amnesty International.
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Gilauri also said that Georgia’s president, Salome Zourabichvili, should not step down and should remain in her post. Zourabichvili’s presidential term ends on Dec. 29, and the new Georgian Dream majority in parliament already appointed her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili.
“Georgia’s president, Salome Zourabichvili, is the only legitimate institution that Georgia has right now,” Gilauri said.
Zourabichvili, who is pro-Europe, declared that the elections were fraudulent, and that parliament was illegitimate and had no authority to appoint her replacement. The Georgian Dream-backed Kavelashvili is critical of the West, and the opposition views him as an extension of Georgian Dream’s ambitions of moving the country closer to Russia and away from their European ambitions.
President Zourabichvili said the October parliamentary elections were essentially stolen and that she would not step down. Thousands gathered to hear Zourabichvili speak at a rally on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi Sunday night, with the president calling on Georgian Dream leaders to negotiate and hold new elections.
“I am ready to sit down and find a solution on how to schedule elections, but the decision must be agreed upon by the 29th,” the president posted on X.
While Zourabichvili has become the de facto leader of the protest movement, her decision could cause further chaos once her presidential term officially comes to an end on the 29th.
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Georgia’s current prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, suggested Zourabichvili be imprisoned if she does not step down from the presidency.
Georgian Dream, the Russian-supported party, claimed victory shortly after polls closed on election night, with around 54% of the vote. The united opposition garnered only 38%. Reuters reported that Georgian Dream says it remains committed to integration with the West, and to a pragmatic policy towards neighboring Russia.
Radio Free Europe reported that Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said after voting in October’s election said, “This is a referendum between war and peace, between immoral propaganda and traditional values. This is a referendum between the country’s dark past and a bright future.”
Many opposition figures reject the victory claimed by Georgian Dream and call the election stolen and rigged.
The Georgian president and many Western observers confirmed that the election results were marred by irregularities, including fraud and ballot stuffing.
The election was “marked by a tense environment and several incidents of physical altercations and widespread intimidation of voters,” the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), noted in a statement. European Council President Charles Michel is calling for an investigation into the alleged irregularities.
Many Georgians have strong aspirations to join the EU, with polls showing up to 83% of them supporting such a move. The Georgian Dream Party has stalled Georgia’s efforts of joining the EU since it became a candidate member in 2023. The EU subsequently put Georgia’s process on hold after a controversial “foreign agent” law that required citizens, non-governmental organizations, media outlets and other civil society organizations that receive over 20% in funding from abroad to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Ministry.
Following the passage of the pro-Kremlin foreign agent law, the U.S. imposed sanctions and travel bans on Georgian officials who voted for the law and security agencies responsible for cracking down on dissent. The State Department also paused $95 million in assistance to the government.
Reuters contributed to this report.