The Daily Beat: 13 March
The French National Assembly adopted a resolution calling for increased support for Ukraine, which also condemned Russian interference in the democratic processes of the European Union and its neighbors, “particularly in the Moldovan, Georgian, and Romanian elections.”
In parallel to the French resolution, the upper Chamber of Czechia’s Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security tabled a resolution on Georgia that decries “widespread irregularities” in the October 26 elections, condemns alleged human rights violations, and explicitly calls for new parliamentary elections under neutral supervision as “the only way out” of what it calls a “severe constitutional crisis.”
The V-Dem Institute has downgraded Georgia to an “electoral autocracy” in its Democracy 2025 report, highlighting a significant democratic backslide from its previous status as an “electoral democracy.” The report states that 2024 marks the country’s steepest decline since gaining independence, with deterioration starting in 2018 after a period of progress from 2013 to 2017.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed that the EU candidate status was intended to incite a revolution in Georgia. He described the timing of Ukraine’s invasion and the subsequent offer of EU candidate status as “to say the least, strange.” Despite their suspicions that it was an attempt at blackmail, he noted that the Georgian Dream party ultimately supported the application for EU candidate status.
He further claimed that there were four failed revolution attempts in Georgia: by parties, by journalists, by NGOs, and the last one – “by nobody”, calling the ongoing popular protest the attempted revolution by “amorphous mass.” “There is a fourth attempt at revolution by nobody, that is, nobody organizing a revolution, there is an amorphous mass that has emerged,” stressed Kobakhidze in an interview with Imedi TV, a government mouthpiece.
Apart from accusing the EU of staging a revolution in Georgia, Kobakhidze sarcastically thanked anti-regime protesters for paying hefty fines as they continue to exercise their right to peaceful assembly for over 100 days. “They come on their own to protest, replenishing the state budget with tens of thousands of GEL… for which we can sort of thank them,” said the GD Prime Minister.
The GD government has decided to continue providing personal bodyguards to former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and former Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani. However, according to the law, state protection is normally granted only to the Prime Minister, President, or Speaker of the Parliament for one year after their term in office expires or their powers are terminated. Exceptions are made only if the life or health of these high-ranking officials is under imminent threat.