Georgia’s pro-European incumbent president, Salome Zourabichvili, has called for fresh parliamentary elections given the turmoil her country faces as protests continued on Sunday following the government’s decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.
Following the allegations of electoral fraud and the government’s departure from the path towards the EU, a way to a new vote must be found, Zourabichvili asserted.
“We only have one demand, which is based on the constitution after the elections were rigged,” she said at a meeting with opposition representatives. “The only way to achieve stability is through new elections, there is no other way.”
She also accused Georgia’s Constitutional Court of not even having set a date to consider the allegations of electoral fraud she had submitted.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the European Union’s openness to Georgia despite concerns over the country’s leadership shifting away from pro-European values as the country enters its fourth night of protests.