The prime minister and rival of the president blames “foreign entities” for the protests in the capital
MADRID, 30 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of Georgia, Salomé Zurabishvili, assured this Saturday that she will continue in office as a gesture of defiance against a government that she considers illegitimate, amid protests and riots in the capital, Tbilisi, and despite the proximity of presidential elections on the 14th. of December that would certify the end of his mandate.
“As there is no legitimate Parliament, there will be no legitimate president nor an investiture. That is why I remain as its president,” the Georgian president made known in a televised speech in which she claimed to be “the only independent and legitimate institution that remains in the country” in a speech collected by the Tabula news portal.
With this statement, President Zurabishvili reiterates her complete rejection of the government led by Georgian Dream, of Prime Minister Irakli Kobajidze, whom she accuses of having won the last elections by fraudulent methods and with the covert support of Russia. Since then, the capital has been taken over by protesters opposed to Kobajidze in a succession of protests that this Friday alone left more than a hundred detained.
Kobakhidze this Saturday blamed “radicals and their foreign bosses” for staging these demonstrations that his national security service, the SSGE, has directly described as an attempt to “overthrow the Government by violent methods.” The prime minister, who
“We call on foreign entities to stop encouraging violent and unfounded protests that fuel anti-European sentiments in Georgian society,” he added.
“They have not yet understood that Georgia is an independent country with strong institutions and, most importantly, with experienced and wise people, whose firmness will not be shaken by anyone,” the prime minister warned.