President Zurabishvili Inaugurates “Vote for Europe” Movement
On July 11, President Salome Zurabishvili inaugurated a new public movement, “Vote for Europe,” bringing civil society representatives together to “protect Georgia’s European future, independence, and freedom.” The movement said it plans to reach Georgian citizens countrywide and the diaspora abroad with the “100 Days to Victory” campaign starting on July 18 and ending on election day, October 26. The campaign aims to mobilize pro-Western voters.
The movement’s founders are security expert Khatuna Lagazidze, Tbilisi State University professor Lela Jejelava, European policy expert Giorgi Rukhadze, businessman Iva Chkonia, and University of Georgia professor Lasha Dzebisashvili.
President Zurabishvili said 100 days remain “for society to say its word” against what she called the government “freezing” Georgia’s movement towards Europe and claimed the October elections are “a referendum” on the country’s destiny. “In this referendum, on the one hand, there is the Georgian society; on the other hand, there is the government, which has usurped our future,” the President said.
“The process of joining the European Union has stopped. The NATO summit declaration no longer speaks of a partnership with Georgia. We are losing everything that the Georgian state stood on until today…” one of the founders, Khatuna Lagazidze, argued, adding that “our union is open to all who support Georgia’s European perspective”.
Lagazidze also noted that their mission went beyond the upcoming elections and floated the idea of creating a “platform for strategic dialogue to formulate a long-term plan for Georgia’s development.
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