Georgian Parliament Speaker accuses President of “threatening bloodshed” by refusing to accept successor

Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday criticised President Salome Zourabichvili, accusing her of “threatening the population with bloodshed” and “undermining state institutions” through her refusal to accept the results of parliamentary elections held in October and presidential vote that took place last week to elect her successor. 

We have seen many bad things during our independence, but this is the first time we have witnessed a president threatening the population with bloodshed”, Papuashvili claimed at a briefing, referring to comments made by Zourabichvili the previous day on the need for a “peaceful resolution of the crisis” through a rerun of the general election. 

Papuashvili condemned Zourabichvili for “using her position to challenge the legitimacy” of both elections, as the President has called the parliamentary vote “rigged”.  The developments have come amid ongoing protests in the country against the Government's decision last month to postpone the European Union accession talks until 2028.

By doing so, she has threatened the majority of the population of Georgia with bloodshed if they do not give up the choice made on October 26”, Papuashvili claimed. 

He further accused the President of “attempting to destabilise the country” by organising what he described as a “shameful unrest for the world to witness”.

At the end of her presidency, Zourabichvili has once again decided not only to dismantle and undermine state institutions, but also to organise a shameful unrest and a farce in the country for the world to see”, the official added. 

The Speaker also said the President had faced impeachment procedures last year for her unauthorised foreign visits, calling her a “violator of the Constitution”, and added her refusal to recognise the results of the October elections was also a “grave political and moral offence”. 

The main political and moral crime she committed was not recognising the will expressed by the population in the elections, thereby trying to overturn an undesirable and unacceptable result for her”, Papuashvili argued.

He further linked the current political tensions to previous “efforts by foreign forces to influence Georgian politics”, referencing former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s clandestine return from Ukraine to Georgia ahead of the 2021 municipal elections. 

Let us recall the former President Saakashvili, who was infiltrated into Georgia by foreign special services on election night to overturn the election results”, he claimed, drawing parallels with the current “attempts to destabilise the country”. 

The Speaker also accused Zourabichvili of “seeking foreign support to fuel anti-constitutional and violent actions”, asserting “she is asking for support from foreign countries to encourage anti-constitutional, violent processes”. 

Papuashvili highlighted the “stability” provided by the Georgian Government, which he argued possessed the “necessary power to thwart any attempts at unrest”.