Before we move on to the current situation in Georgia, let’s do a quick refresher.
Five major political parties filed candidates in the October 26 parliamentary elections. Georgia Dream is a neoliberal party funded by one of the country’s richest men, a party that is not opposed to the West but supports strong ties with Russia and China. , took first place with 54% of the votes.
All four main opposition parties support a pro-Western line (thus downgrading relations with Moscow and China, even if the West does not become a tool against them), with a combined 38%. obtained.
What about the protests and what happened next?
Paris-born (and possibly ghost) President Salome Zurabichvili, who assumed the role of rebel leader, continues to claim that the result was due to fraud and “Russian special operations.” (1) They make a number of claims, including pointing to this graph as an important piece of “evidence.”
Maybe I’m a bit bad at math and statistical graphs, but this seems complicated (and not convincing) A flag to rally the troops. Of course, if there really isn’t solid evidence of the massive fraud they’re claiming, that could also be the point.
Zurabichvili called on his supporters to rally on October 28th. Despite the conflicting claims, it appears that voter turnout was reasonable. The Associated Press reported the number was in the tens of thousands, but JAM News claimed the number was 100,000.
How many more lies are you going to spread, loser? pic.twitter.com/PD3RQglgzd
— General George Fella🇬🇪🇺🇦 (@jezko_fella) October 29, 2024
Unless some inciting event occurs, will it last and be enough to bring about significant change? The following are some of the sites reporting that Georgia is making that claim.
Even though it’s worth it, Tas It was reported that snipers trained in Ukraine were arriving in Georgia to carry out provocations during mass protests, and that’s right. According to TASS, the activities of the “Georgian Corps,” a militant group in Ukraine made up of former Georgian military and police officers and foreign fighters, are also noteworthy. The governments in Moscow and Tbilisi began cracking down on the corps earlier this year. from Military regime:
Georgian special services, following Russian authorities, have placed a Georgian volunteer who fought on the Ukrainian side on the wanted list.
Mamuka Mamlashvili, commander of the Georgian National Corps fighting for Ukraine, told Insider. He said about 300 members of his combat unit were wanted in Georgia. Most of them are currently in Ukraine.
Judging by Militarny’s story, it appears that these fighters will be closely monitored if they return to Georgia. And Georgia has little desire to become a second Ukraine.
I saw Ukrainians telling us to start “Maidan 2.0” but not realizing the fact that the majority of Georgians voted for GD precisely because we don’t want it. I didn’t. I’m sorry, but Ukraine is not our “model state” and we do not want it to become like Ukraine today. and we don’t want or need maidan https://t.co/PPIj6znLa7
— Gio (@Gio_Meskhi_) October 30, 2024
Meanwhile, President Zurabichvili, who was serving as the second advisor to the French Embassy, chad during a Paris-backed coup Idris Debbieit seems we’re not so lucky this time:
Georgia’s president can do whatever she wants, but the election is valid and the government will be in power, and she has no power to change it.
— Yuliana Dlugaj🇷🇺🇨🇳🇰🇵🇮🇷 (@Dlugaj July) October 29, 2024
However, she gain a small concession From the Georgia State Attorney’s Office:
Public Prosecutors Office said Forty-seven criminal cases were filed before and on Election Day, including allegations of voter fraud, influencing voter will, violating voting secrecy, buying votes, obstructing media operations, and pre-election and election-day violations and intimidation. He is being investigated for alleged crimes committed on election day. – Incitement to elections, damage and destruction of property. He also said that persons related to the alleged crimes were being summoned for questioning “intensively”.
Zurabichvili continues to call for more protests and U.S. and EU support for them, but has not yet asked former Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland to come hand out cookies. Zurabichvili told The Associated Press that protests were the only way Georgians could “express that their vote was stolen and their future was stolen,” and that the U.S. and European Union would “withdraw” from the demonstrations. He added that he hopes so. How much support can we provide in response to the Foreign Agents Act that was enacted this spring? The law requires NGOs and media organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with the government.
Since the 1990s, Western NGOs have played a major role in Georgia, often filling the space left by state capacity and giving Americans and Europeans influence over the country. Reporting requirements for foreign-owned entities make it difficult for U.S.- and EU-backed groups to influence votes or discreetly fabricate attempts at color revolution.
“We need the solid support of our European partners, our American partners,” Zurabichvili said. Some opposition politicians have called for new elections to be fully monitored by foreign regulators and have vowed to boycott parliament until that happens, but that seems highly unlikely.
Some are calling for an equally unlikely vote “verification” process.
It is very easy to prove that the October 26th election was fraudulent. pic.twitter.com/2C2XAqs13T
— Giorgi Giorgi (@GakhariaGiorgi) October 29, 2024
Russia’s reaction
The Kremlin rejected accusations of interference. Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Andrei Klimov said Earlier this year, Russia said it was ready to deal with threats to the Georgian dream if Tbilisi made such a request to Moscow.
US reaction
Regarding calls for an investigation into election fraud in Georgia, Defense Force Spocks said:
“We are in discussions with our European partners about what the appropriate agency would be to carry out such an investigation.” pic.twitter.com/Gye81Y91iV
— Alex Raufoglu (@ralakbar) October 28, 2024
Key quote: “We do not exclude further consequences if the direction of the Georgian government does not change.”
Given the US government’s penchant for sanctions, it would not be surprising if they were imposed soon. Over the summer, the Biden administration imposed It imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian officials, halted $95 million in aid to Georgia, and signaled a series of sanctions were in place just in case. These include strict measures such as:
This week is the chairman @RepJoeWilson led the introduction of the MEGOBARI Act in a strong and bipartisan manner. This bill underscores our commitment to democracy and freedom in Georgia. We respond to those who open the gates to Russia. https://t.co/GrcojKStr9 pic.twitter.com/stBQkUVQp6
— U.S. Helsinki Committee (@HelsinkiComm) May 24, 2024
In other news, Russiagate is the gift that keeps on giving.
“It doesn’t matter that we don’t have evidence[of Russian election interference]. Neither did the United States.” – Georgian President Zurabishvili
“It’s always very difficult to demonstrate. Russia has been able to demonstrate this in no country, not even the United States… pic.twitter.com/SB1N783w50
— Victor Vicktop55 (@vicktop55) October 28, 2024
EU response
EU leaders on Wednesday stopped Georgia’s accession process due to the government’s “deviation from EU values”. The process had previously been put on hold depending on the outcome of the election.
Georgia will need to recommit to these principles in order to restart the process.
You can read the European Commission’s second enlargement report here A full list of the principles allegedly breached can be found here, but it is clear at this point what Brussels wants. Georgia must do as the West says regarding Moscow and Beijing.
Here is European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen weighing in in a suitably Halloween-style lighting environment.
🇪🇺Ursula von der Leyen wants to eliminate 🇬🇪 Georgia’s elected government pic.twitter.com/0pWVC54NuZ
–What the media is hiding. (@narrative_hole) October 29, 2024
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, the first foreign leader to celebrate the Georgian Dream, arrived in Georgia on Monday for a two-day visit that caused considerable overreaction in Europe.
Prime Minister Orban was visiting Georgia today, and several EU officials issued a statement not to confuse his visit with an EU visit, after which Prime Minister Orban wrote: https://t.co/RZKaWnP6Ro
— Sopo Japaridze (@sopjap) October 28, 2024
It’s the economy, idiot.
What is conveniently ignored amid all the fuss over fraud and Russia’s “special political operation” is that the primary focus of the vote was economic considerations.
Western leaders may be slow to admit this, but in a yes-or-no contest, arguing for the other side is increasingly seen as an attractive option. As an IMF memoeconomic growth has shifted from the G7 to the BRICS, and the BRICS also respect the sovereignty of other countries for the time being. In the specific case of Georgia, Russia, China and other regional countries offer more than Western countries. From Sopo Japaridze, who follows events in Georgia closely on Twitter, writes: Jacobins:
President Zurabichvili told Western media that while her campaign tried to appeal to voters’ aspirations, Georgian Dream relied on voters’ “fear” and that this would ensure her approach would bring victory. He claimed to be suggesting that. But many Georgians are certainly motivated by anxiety, more worried about not losing what they have than believing in the promise of European prosperity that has yet to materialize. are.
However, in this context, Georgia has effectively utilized its geographical location. The lack of full compliance with sanctions against Russia has clearly helped boost the country’s economy. By maintaining a neutral position, Georgia has emerged as an important trading hub for countries aiming for relations with Russia, resulting in an increase in business activity, especially in logistics and trade. The expected GDP growth rate is 7.1%. As a result, Georgia’s inflation rate has significantly decreased to 0.6% since 2022, increasing purchasing power.
Georgian Dream is a neoliberal, billionaire-backed party that has recently made modest progress compared to previous governments over the past decade, and significantly more progress on social issues than the previous government. I am doing it. It also established a minimum wage for health workers in 2023 and doubled maternity benefits. The last general minimum wage was passed in 1999. These changes may not be substantive, but they highlight a shift in government priorities.
I have never seen anyone explain why Georgians would want to give up their meager gains and support the Western plutocrats in their fight against Russia.
Precautions
(1) Zurabichvili had a 30-year career in French diplomatic and defense positions, including as second advisor to the French Embassy. chad During a Paris-backed coup Idris Debbie. She was also Director of International Strategy for the Defense Secretariat and worked with the NATO Strategic Directorate. From 2003 to 2004, she served as France’s ambassador to Georgia, before successfully becoming Georgia’s foreign minister in 2008, appointed by former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who led Georgia into a disastrous war with Russia. Zurabichvili has been involved in Georgian politics ever since.
