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Georgia’s prime minister insisted the president must step down this month and rejected US accusations that his government acted undemocratically in freezing EU accession talks as the South Caucasus republic’s political crisis deepened.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s comments on Sunday signaled an intensifying standoff with President Salome Zourabichvili, a leading opposition figure who said on Saturday she plans to stay in office despite her term officially ending on December 16.
Protesters, who have repeatedly clashed with police in what has become one of Georgia’s most intense protest movements in decades, rallied against Kobakhidze’s government on city streets across the country for the fourth night in a row on Sunday.
The prime minister said Zourabichvili would have to leave the Orbeliani Palace residence in the capital Tbilisi and “hand over this building” to the new president after he was elected on December 14 by an electoral college that includes members of parliament.
Zourabichvili “fought for the victory of the radical opposition” in last month’s general election, thinking it would “guarantee her a chance to stay in office, but she lost,” the prime minister said.
In a national address on Saturday night, Zourabichvili insisted that an “illegitimate parliament” could not elect a president.
“Therefore, no inauguration can take place and my mandate lasts until a legitimately elected parliament is formed to elect my successor,” she said.
Earlier this month, Kobakhidze’s ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party announced that it had won national elections with 54 percent of the vote. But Brussels and Washington have expressed concern on the legitimacy of the results due to reports of intimidation, falsification of votes and fraud at polling stations.
The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a repeat of the elections and sanctions against leading Georgian politicians, including oligarch and GD founder Bidzin Ivanishvili.
GD has been in power since 2012 and has gradually expanded its influence over almost all the country’s institutions and directed it back towards the Russian orbit.
Saturday is the US State Department announced suspension of the strategic partnership between the US and Georgia, saying that “various anti-democratic actions have violated the fundamental principles” of it.
“By suspending Georgia’s EU accession process, the Georgian Dream rejected an opportunity for closer ties with Europe and made Georgia more vulnerable to the Kremlin,” the US statement said.
Kobakhidze dismissed the suspension of the partnership as “temporary”, saying his government would “discuss everything” with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, with whom it was already in “indirect contact”.
“Whatever Trump says will happen. Therefore, the most important thing for us is the relationship with Donald Trump,” said the Prime Minister.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters have been detained in recent days, while the interior ministry said 44 people were hospitalized after Saturday’s protests, including 16 police officers.
Protesters oppose the government’s decision to end negotiations with the EU and refuse any funding from the Union until 2028.
Ketevan Chachava, head of the Tbilisi-based NGO Center for Development and Democracy, said the crackdown “seems designed to intimidate dissent but risks further fueling public anger.”
Many in the Georgian opposition see a Russian role in the alleged election manipulation. “Russia wants to trap us – it’s happening,” said Eka Gigauri, head of Transparency International Georgia, another NGO.
Brussels stalled Georgia’s accession talks this summer over a controversial “foreign agents” law that critics say was inspired by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. It requires NGOs and media that receive foreign funding to register with the government or face fines.
Over 80 percent of Georgia’s 3.8 million population support EU membership according to polls by local and international research organizations.
Despite GD’s fierce anti-Western rhetoric, GD was in power when Georgia enshrined its desire for EU membership in the constitution in 2017. The party supported EU accession, as well as NATO membership, in parliamentary elections this month .
