the Prime Minister assures that integration into the EU is the “priority”

After the victory, contested by the president, Salomé Zourabichvili, of the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream in the legislative elections, the prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, affirmed that integrating his country into the European Union (EU) remained “priority” from Tbilisi “in matters of foreign policy”Monday September 28. Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze said “expect a restart of relations” with Brussels, after strong tensions in recent months. “Everything will be done to ensure that Georgia is fully integrated into the European Union by 2030”he promised, despite strong criticism from the opposition, which accuses the ruling party of pro-Russian authoritarian drift.

The pro-European opposition calls for demonstrations in Georgia on Monday to denounce legislative elections “volleys”according to her, by the party in power; Salomé Zourabichvili evoking a “Russian special operation, a modern form of hybrid warfare against the Georgian people”. She denounced a « falsification totale » elections.

Monday morning, the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin “firmly” rejected “totally unfounded accusations”accusing M^me Zourabichvili de “attempts at destabilization” of his own country.

According to almost final results announced by the electoral commission, the Georgian Dream, in business since 2012 in this former Caucasian Soviet Republic, was credited Monday morning with 53.92% of the votes, compared to 37.78% for the pro-Union coalition. European.

Washington and Brussels have requested an investigation

The opposition accuses the ruling party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, of bringing Georgia closer to Moscow and distancing it from possible membership in the European Union and NATO, two objectives even though enshrined in its Constitution .

Washington and Brussels, which had warned that the future of EU accession negotiations depended on this election, requested that an investigation be carried out into possible electoral fraud. International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) spoke of “pressures” and listed a certain number of malfunctions, such as “case of vote buying”or “violations of the secrecy of the vote”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, expected in Georgia on Monday for a two-day official visit, “does not represent the European Union”said Monday the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, who believes that Mr. Orban “probably going to show support for the government of Georgia”. The Hungarian nationalist prime minister, the only leader of an EU member state remaining close to Moscow, is one of the few to have reacted to the result of the vote in this Caucasian country, congratulating the Georgian Dream party on Saturday for its “overwhelming victory”.