EU Ambassador calls on Georgian citizens to “go and vote” in upcoming elections

Paweł Herczyński, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, on Friday called on Georgians citizens to “go and vote” in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26.

In his remarks, Herczyński noted the upcoming elections would be “absolutely essential” in determining the future of the country.

The EU diplomat further stressed it was up to Georgian voters to decide which party they would support in the elections.

Your vote really, really matters. I sincerely hope that the turnout during the upcoming elections on October 26 will be historic high and you collectively will decide the future of your country”, Herczyński said.

He also stressed the EU was not part of the electoral process in the country, and further pointed out that the bloc would work with any Government elected to “restart Georgia’s path towards EU membership”.

However, Herczyński added that if Georgia became a “one-party state” and a country in which “political opposition is banned, a place where civil society needs to go abroad to operate, if basic human rights, including rights of minorities, are not protected”, then it would “not become a member of the European Union - neither today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow”.