Georgia's tireless protest against electoral fraud and for a future in the EU

TbilisiIn front of the Public Broadcasting building, about thirty people are gathered in a semicircle. A young man reads a manifesto demanding justice. We painted it over the party we voted for, so it would be more visible. "Now we use the dot as a claim, to show that we voted for something else," explain those who carry them.

After the parliamentary elections of October 26, 2024, in which the party in power since 2012, Somni Georgià (SG), led de facto The election, which was reelected by Bidzina Ivanishvili with 54% of the vote, has not stopped protesting in Georgia. According to international observers, such as the OSCE and the European Parliament, in 24% of polling stations, vote secrecy was compromised, vote buying occurred, and voters voted more than once, especially in rural areas. Civil organizations, such as the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia, called for the results to be annulled in more than 2,000 polling stations. "Civil organizations organized to have election observers throughout the country. We saw many irregularities, such as coercion to vote for the SG or confusion with the ballots," explains one of the observers.

The population of the capital and other large cities, such as Batumi and Kutaisi, took to the streets demanding a repeat election. For several weeks in November and December, hundreds of people protested across the country. But the protests were harshly repressed: water cannons and pepper spray were used, and hundreds of protesters were arrested. And not only that. Taking to the streets also meant exposing oneself to fines of 500 lari (about 160 euros) at first; however, these have since been raised, and today they reach 5,000 lari (about 1,600 euros). To track who was participating, Parliament installed facial recognition systems in the city's cameras. Crowdfunding platforms were opened to support those arrested in their legal proceedings, but the government shut them down. As happened with independent media outlets such as Batumelebi and Netgazeti. Dozens of journalists have been detained.

Ongoing protests, with fewer people

Today the route changes. Instead of walking toward the Parliament, as they have done every night for almost five months, they will turn toward the Vasil Abashidze State Theatre. Another rally has begun there. They cross paths in the street, greet each other, and chant in unison: "No justice, no peace," "Out with the oligarchs."

And even though they are smaller in size, the mobilizations maintain a surprising consistency. As the march moves through the streets, cars honk their horns and wave at them in support even as they block the roads. "Sometimes it seems like they're just waiting for something serious to happen again before they try again," says a young man on the march.

The political crisis deepened even further when, last December, in the midst of the protests, A presidential election was held, which protesters called illegitimate.The reason was that, since the 2017 constitutional reform, these elections have become indirect: that is, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of members of Parliament and local representatives, not by citizens.

Thus, Mikheil Kavelashvili of the SG was elected unopposed, and most parties boycotted the process. Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognize the results, while participating in the demonstrations outside Parliament herself."I don't recognize the legitimacy of this president. These elections were a farce and a disinformation operation orchestrated by Moscow," he said at the time.

The goal: to join the European Union

Following the Rose Revolution in 2003 and the Five-Day War against Russia in 2008, Georgia embarked on a firm path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, and the population denounces the constant Russian intervention in the country: "20% of the country is occupied by Russia, so it cannot be denied that we are still under Russian intervention."

In 2022, together with Moldova and Ukraine, formally applied for membership in the European Union, but was only granted a "European perspective," subject to the fulfillment of 12 key reforms. Finally, in December 2023, the European Council granted Georgia candidate status. However, In December 2024, Kobakhidze announced the suspension of the accession process until 2028, which increased the crisis in the country.. "The elections were the most pro-EU ever, and we were coming off the back of the referendum in Moldova—in October 2024, they voted on a constitutional amendment to establish EU membership as the country's strategic objective—so everyone who voted for the opposition was clearly pro-European."

Georgians have been on the streets for over 140 days. This is no longer just a protest demanding a repeat election; Georgian society wants a change of system; they want democratic checks and balances to be respected, they demand justice for those who have fought for their rights; but, above all, as a graffiti next to Parliament proclaims, they want to "be Europe."