This announcement comes a few hours after the adoption by the European Parliament of a resolution rejecting the results of the legislative elections which gave victory to the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze declared Thursday that his government was postponing its plans to begin negotiations to join the European Union until 2028, accusing Brussels of “blackmail” against a backdrop of political crisis after the legislative elections at the end of October. This announcement comes a few hours after the adoption by the European Parliament of a resolution rejecting the results of the legislative elections in Georgia which gave victory to the ruling Georgian Dream party, denouncing “significant irregularities”.
This resolution demands that a new election be organized within a year under international supervision and that sanctions be taken against senior Georgian officials, including Mr. Kobakhidze. In response, the Prime Minister accused the European Parliament and “certain European politicians” of “blackmail”. “We have decided not to put the question of membership of the European Union on the agenda before the end of 2028”he announced.
However, he pledged to continue implementing the necessary reforms, ensuring that “By 2028, Georgia will be better prepared than any other candidate country to open accession negotiations with Brussels and become a member state in 2030”. A former Soviet republic, Georgia officially obtained candidate status for membership in December 2023, but Brussels has since frozen the process, accusing the Georgian Dream government of carrying out a serious democratic step backwards.
The new Georgian Parliament, for its part, confirmed Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in office since February, in his post on Thursday in a vote boycotted by the pro-Western opposition. Opposition deputies, who accuse the Georgian Dream of a pro-Russian authoritarian drift, have refused since Monday to participate in the new Parliament elected during the legislative elections on October 26.
Tear gas
President Salomé Zourabichvili, breaking with the government, declared «inconstitutionnel» the new Parliament, while awaiting a response to its request to the Constitutional Court to annul the results of the legislative elections, which is unlikely to succeed. Following Mr. Kobakhidze's statements, the president, who has only limited powers in Georgia, organized a “emergency meeting” with foreign diplomats.
“Today the illegitimate government has declared war on its own people”she said during a press conference alongside opposition leaders. “I am the only legitimate institution, the only legitimate representative of this country”she assured. Thousands of protesters also gathered in front of the Parliament and the Georgian Dream headquarters in Tbilisi, holding EU and Georgian flags and blocking traffic.
“The Georgian Dream did not win the elections, it staged a coup. There is no parliament or legitimate government in Georgia.said Chota Sabachvili, a 20-year-old protester. “We will not let this self-proclaimed prime minister destroy our European future”he added. Georgian riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators shortly after midnight, according to AFP journalists on the scene. Dozens of Georgian diplomats issued a joint statement to protest Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement.
Disappearance of “democratic institutions”
For them, the decision “does not correspond to the strategic interests of the country”contradicts the Georgian constitution and “would lead Georgia towards international isolation”. “Without support from Western partners, Georgia will face increased threats, especially in the context of the current evolving international security environment”they write. The president's refusal to validate the new Parliament and the opposition's boycott are fueling a crisis of legitimacy for the institution.
One of the authors of the Georgian Constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladzé, told AFP that “with democratic institutions having disappeared, the Georgian state is facing an existential crisis”. The Prime Minister, who already criticized the EU and the United States for wanting to drag Georgia into the war between Russia and Ukraine, asked Thursday, in front of the deputies, that Brussels “respects our national interests and traditional values”.
Irakli Kobakhidze is considered a loyal supporter of the powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the Georgian Dream and accused by his detractors of pulling the strings of national politics. After the October legislative elections, tens of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets to protest, without succeeding in shaking the government.
