Students from at least 13 Georgian universities published a joint manifesto on Sunday condemning the disputed October 26 parliamentary elections and calling for “civil disobedience” actions in central Tbilisi for the next 24 hours. TASR informs about it on the basis of a report from Radio Sloboda (RFE/RL).
In their November 17 manifesto, Georgian students say systematic election fraud exposes efforts by the ruling Georgian Dream party to take control of the state.
“We do not intend to allow our country to lose its freedom. As citizens of Georgia, we remain committed to democratic values and state interests,” they state in the manifesto. “We do not recognize the elections or the parliament sitting according to the results of these elections… We are ready to fight for freedom for us and for our country!” they deliver.
In the manifesto, the students also talk about the government’s alleged attacks on the education system, mentioning “discriminatory and selective decisions” regarding access to educational institutions, as well as the “introduction of censorship” in teaching. The manifesto was signed by 13 groups from at least 13 Georgian universities.
Georgia’s election commission confirmed the results of the aforementioned elections on Saturday, despite widespread protests and accusations of fraud and Russian interference. According to them, the pro-Russian Georgian Dream won 53.93 percent of the votes, the four opposition alliances 37.79 percent.
The commission’s session was briefly interrupted when opposition representative Davit Kirtadze splashed black paint on the face of its chairman, Giorgi Kalandarishvili, before the official announcement of the results. With such a protest action, Kirtadze wanted to point out the fact that the ink used by the voters to mark their choice in the ballots was in some cases visible from the other side, which, according to the opposition, threatened the secrecy of the vote.
The opposition refuses to sit in the newly elected parliament, which it considers “illegitimate”, as the elections were, according to it, accompanied by extensive fraud. At the same time, he accuses the ruling party of deviating Georgia from the direction of the EU and wants to return it to the Russian sphere of influence. President Salome Zurabišviliová also rejects the election results. They were recognized only by the ruling Georgian Dream, which has been in power in the country since 2012, RFE reminds.
Student protests were already taking place on Friday night at universities in major cities across the country. The EU and other Western powers have expressed concern over allegations of electoral fraud and have called on Tbilisi to investigate the irregularities.
Georgia has been a candidate country for the EU since December 2023. However, in response to the adoption of a “law on foreign agents”, similar to Russian legislation used to silence dissent, Brussels in July suspended the accession process and froze tens of millions of euros in financial aid.
