Zurabishvili: GD Might Have to Call New Elections

President Salome Zurabishvili does not rule out the possibility that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party itself will schedule new elections. Otherwise, Zurabishvili believes, the GD “regime will collapse” in the end.

“Either the regime will collapse if they go all in, or it will call [new] elections itself,” she said, adding that during her recent visit to the Munich Security Conference, she urged international partners to help Georgia organize new elections in a way that would prevent possible fraud.

“I do not rule out the possibility that Georgian Dream, having reached a dead end, may itself try to call new elections,” Zurabishvili said in an interview with Formula TV. She also noted that the GD has been preparing: adopting the repressive laws, including the recent one on treason, as well as the amendments to the election legislation, to keep society under pressure and under control.

She stressed: “We need to know exactly how to conduct [new] elections,” noting that this was linked to the issue of the confidence of citizens in the elections. “We have to be ready for anything” she said, adding that she’s been working with the opposition, lawyers, and other groups to define how the future elections should be conducted.

She said that GD has not been recognized by any foreign actors, and even those who do recognize it do so for “ideological reasons.” She added, “In reality, this Georgian Dream is completely isolated.”

“Today, they can help us in only two ways: first, by not returning to ‘business as usual’—continuing the non-recognition [of Georgian Dream], and second, by helping us through the normal, democratic path that has no alternative: new elections,” she said.

Zurabishvili said that the GD is under pressure from both ongoing domestic protests and external factors, including non-recognition and sanctions. She added that she had received messages from business circles seen as key supporters of Bidzina Ivanishvili, with some saying, “We are not what you think we are,” suggesting that the sanctions were already taking a toll on them. She noted this shows sanctions work even before they are introduced.

She said the GD had reached a “complete deadlock” and reiterated that the GD could decide to “try” new elections. “We have to be prepared for anything,” she said.

In an interview, Zurabishvili also called on society to take to the streets en masse on February 25, the day the Soviet regime was established in Georgia in 1921.

Also Read:

• 18/02/2025 – President Zurabishvili Takes Legal Action Over Tbilisi Airport Attack, Speaks of Wider Implications
• 15/02/2025 – Salome Zurabishvili Attends Munich Security Conference 2025
• 05/02/2025 – President Zurabishvili: “Political Life in Georgia Has Ended,” Urges International Pressure on GD to Call Elections

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