“Georgia Chooses the EU” – tens of thousands gather at pro-EU march taking place in Tbilisi before the upcoming parliamentary elections
A Pro-Eu rally took place in Tbilisi, organised by a coalition of civil society groups. The event was held at Freedom Square, under the slogan “Georgia Chooses the European Union.”
Beginning at 5:00 PM, participants gathered from five different locations in Tbilisi and marched towards Freedom Square, where the main event occurred. The demonstrators carried Georgian and European Union flags, pro-EU slogans and posters. Both the Georgian and EU anthems were played during the rally.
Georgia’s President, Salome Zurabishvili, addressed the crowd, expressing solidarity with the movement.
“Today is an evening that will go down in Georgia’s history, remembered by our children and grandchildren. My grandson Gabriel was born today—a symbol of the future, a new Georgia emerging.
The Georgia I see before me is free. No one was forced to come here. No one came out of fear of losing their job. There is nothing more valuable than freedom and peace. The people gathered here today, the Georgians who stand for Europe, are doing so with dignity and in peace,” the President said. She emphasised that the younger and older generations are united in their commitment to Georgia’s European future, and they believe that the country’s development lies within Western Civilisation.
“May today be the day of your victory, Maya [Sandu]. Volodymyr Zelensky, we know you will continue to fight for us and that you will triumph,” Zurabishvili added.
According to the event organizers, the purpose of the march was to demonstrate strong support for Georgia’s European path and to affirm that Georgia’s rightful place is in the European Union.
One of the leaders of the Georgian Dream party accuses opposition of preparing for manipulations during the upcoming elections
One of the leaders of Georgian Dream, Mamuka Mdinaradze, has accused the opposition of planning election manipulations ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. As the executive secretary of Georgian Dream, Mdinaradze outlined what he claims is the opposition’s “action plan” for election day.
According to Mdinaradze, opposition parties are discussing various propaganda strategies aimed at discrediting the elections. He mentioned that on October 26, representatives of the “agency opposition” will be warned about so-called “green actions.”
Mdinaradze alleged that the opposition is considering the following tactics:
- Submitting identical complaints in all districts.
- Overloading the Central Election Commission’s communication channels.
- Refusing to fulfil their duties as members of local election commissions.
- Creating artificial queues at polling stations.
- Damaging vote-counting and verification devices.
- Stealing and discarding ballots.
- Entering polling stations for a second time and causing disruptions.
- Attempting to remove ballots from precincts.
- Publicly showing photos of ballots with a coloured circle in front of candidate number 41 to falsely suggest that voters are being forced to vote for the ruling party, thereby creating a perception that the secrecy of the vote is being violated.
- Circulating photos where the circle in front of candidate number 41 is highlighted.
- Taking pictures of ballots folded by hand to suggest voter control.
Mdinaradze emphasized that this is not an exhaustive list of the alleged plans.
Lavrov accuses the West of the “attempts for opening the second front”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of attempting to “open a second front” against Russia. In his statement, Lavrov noted that Russia continues to maintain contact with Georgia as needed, primarily in the areas of trade and tourism.
“We have contacts with Tbilisi through the Swiss Embassy’s interests section, where our diplomats are able to discuss necessary issues. These discussions focus on trade, tourism, and direct people-to-people contacts with the relevant Georgian authorities,” Lavrov said during the conclusion of the third session of the “3+3” regional platform.
Although Georgia has refused to participate in the “3+3” format, Lavrov reiterated that the door remains open for Georgia to join.
Lavrov also referenced what he called the West’s attempts to create instability in the region.
“I am referring to the West’s efforts to ignite tensions and destabilize the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as to strain relations between Georgia and these sovereign states. Most of the risks we are observing stem from the West’s push to maximise its influence here, primarily to undermine the Russian Federation’s ability to foster equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between the South Caucasus countries and Russia,” Lavrov stated.
On September 29, Lavrov also expressed Russia’s readiness to assist Georgia in improving relations with its “neighbours,” specifically Abkhazia and South Ossetia.