By Konstantine Kvachakidze

October 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia were won by the Georgian Dream, ruling party. The elections were assessed by international observers as held in fair and democratic environment, however the opposition parties stated that the voting was rigged, followed by protest rallies, with the demand for new elections. On November 28, the Prime Minister of Georgia announced the decision to refrain from inclusion of the EU accession negotiations on EU-Georgia agenda until 2028. This announcement was used by opposition parties as yet another reason for protests. The decision also fuelled speculative reports in the media about Georgia’s alleged change of direction.

The reality is quite different from what has been reported. At the outset it should be made very clear that EU membership remains Georgia’s key foreign policy priority. In December 2023 Georgia was granted EU candidate country status. This significant achievement was based on the progress Georgia has made over the past 10 years on the path of European integration.

Of course, the unwavering will of the Georgian people for EU membership combined with tireless efforts to secure political support from our partners yielded results. As Prime Minister Kobakhidze said in his statement on 28 November, Georgia had not stopped the process of European integration. On the contrary, Georgia continued fulfilling every obligation related to Georgia’s EU accession course and by 2028, commitments undertaken under the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement will be 90 per cent fulfilled.

By 2028 Georgia will be adequately prepared to open the negotiations process for EU membership in 2030, when the Union plans to open the enlargement process. In his statement, the prime minister mentioned that the issue of candidate status was used by some individuals to blackmail Georgia, to introduce unrest in the country, and to divide society. Now, the opening of negotiations again was being used as a tool to blackmail Georgia. Moreover, the Prime Minister in his public statement also said that if the EU on its part opened accession negotiations, the Georgian government would be ready to sign it immediately.

The announcement sparked protests in various parts of Georgia, with opposition groups organising rallies against the decision. It should be emphasised that the right of peaceful assembly in Georgia is guaranteed. However, since the beginning of the protests some groups of demonstrators have resorted to violence, overstepping legal boundaries of peaceful protest. Unfortunately, as a result of these violent actions, protestors as well as law enforcement officers have been injured, with some requiring medical treatment. To de-escalate the situation and restore order, the police have employed special measures as defined by law after issuing multiple warnings.

Parliamentary elections in Georgia were held on 26 October 2024 and, according to the preliminary findings of the observation mission, voters had a wide array of choices, and the elections were well administered in terms of technical preparations. The citizens of Georgia had an opportunity to exercise their fundamental right in a free, fair and democratic environment.

These were the first digital/electronic elections in Georgia, whereby nearly 90 per cent of voters benefited from a service known as voter verification, facilitated through advanced election technology and vote-counting machines. Electronic voting devices were provided by the US/Dutch vendor company “Smartmatic”. The electoral process was monitored by around 1700 international observers from 76 international organisations – among them OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE PA, PACE, Nato PA, PABSEC, European Parliament, which were invited by the Georgian government. There were 111 local observation organisations (23,000 persons) and 199 media organisations (2,800 persons).

Five political parties managed to pass the 5 per cent electoral barrier. Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections with 53.93 per cent of the vote, while the combined share of four opposition coalitions that passed the election threshold totaled 37.78 per cent.

The reliable operation of electronic technologies was verified by the international auditing company Pro V&V, a company with extensive experience in the United States and one of only two companies accredited by relevant American institutions. Its comprehensive audit confirmed the system’s integrity and directly addressed any concerns about potential weaknesses.

To avoid any miscalculation and to ensure the accuracy and the proper work of the technologies the Central Election Commission has also made provision for a random manual ballot recount, that overall, was perfectly in line with the electronic one.

While no election is without separate shortcomings, the overall legitimacy and democratic nature of these elections could not be challenged.

Unfortunately, there were groundless allegations by the opposition about rigged elections. In this regard, the government of Georgia as well as Central Election Commission expressed their readiness to diligently examine all the facts, in order to further improve democratic environment. Georgia’s general prosecutor’s office promptly reacted to CEC’s appeal and has already launched an investigation into election fraud allegations. The majority of the opposition, who publicly claimed to have evidence of alleged electoral wrongdoing, refused to cooperate and provide any information to the investigation.

The allegations of vote-rigging are as unfounded as the claims that the government has given up on EU membership. In accordance with Article 78 of the Constitution of Georgia, which was introduced by Government in 2017, the country will continue its irreversible path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. Georgia has been doing its utmost to firmly anchor its future with the EU, which promotes security, stability, democratic development and prosperity.

Unwavering reform efforts by Georgia in the continuing pursuit of EU membership has produced major milestones, including the granting of candidate status in 2023. The Prime Minister mentioned that Georgia is ready to fulfill over 90 per cent of the commitments assumed under the EU- Georgia Association Agenda and DCFTA by 2028, which will pave the way for Georgia to fully integrate into the EU. Given that the EU has not yet made a decision on opening accession negotiations with Georgia, claims that the Georgian government suspended negotiations with the EU are not true.

As the Prime Minister said in his statement, the Georgian government will do its utmost to be prepared for EU membership by 2030. Georgia’s commitment to continue the relevant reforms is strong and progress achieved by Georgia will be duly reflected in the Enlargement report, as well as the respective conclusions of the EU institutions.

It is obvious that the current government of Georgia is the one who created the solid foundation for the irreversibility of Georgia’s European future and remains firmly faithful to the commitments related to European integration.

There has been no change in Georgia’s policy on EU membership, while talk of the government moving closer to Moscow is pure speculation. Since 2008, George does not even have diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Konstantine Kvachakhidze is the Ambassador of Georgia to Cyprus.