October 7, 2024 - The South Caucasus News

In a comprehensive interview with opposition-leaning TV Pirveli, President Salome Zurabishvili said that she has already chosen the Prime Ministerial candidate, declining to disclose the candidate’s name, further noting that her candidate does not have a political background. President also believes that future ministerial candidates nominated by the parties should be credible, professionals rather than politicians. In an interview, she also pledged that after the elections and formation of a coalition government, Georgia would swiftly resume the European integration process.

On October 3, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili met with her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris. So far, the meeting between the two presidents has not been covered by an official press release on the content of the talks, with only Emmanuel Macron sharing a Facebook post saying, “France welcomes the European and democratic aspirations of the Georgian people. We hope that the elections on October 26 will allow Georgia to resume its European path.”

ALDE (Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe party) adopted a resolution on Georgia, stressing the importance of democratic reforms and free and fair elections, and condemning the democratic regress and persecution of the opponents of the Georgian Dream government. The resolution calls for personal sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishili and his family members, as well as for “duplication of sanctions” already imposed by the U.S. against those undermining democracy in Georgia.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, met with the de facto Foreign Minister of South Ossetia, Akhsar Jioev, in Moscow. Lavrov thanked Jioev for Tskhinvali’s support of the “special military operation in Ukraine” and promised that “the decisions of 2008 will not be changed.” During the meeting, Lavrov also mentioned the possibility of relocating the Geneva International Discussions to an alternative location.

Speaking with journalists, European Union’s Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczyński, called on Georgians to achieve a “historically high” turnout in the upcoming elections, saying the country’s future lies in the hands of its citizens. Herczyński also said that Georgia’s EU aspirations depend on free, fair, and transparent elections, expressing readiness to work with any democratically elected government after the elections.

Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri issued a decree, establishing territorial groups composed of police officers tasked with “detecting and preventing violations during the pre-election period and on election day.” According to the decree, the groups will be based within local police departments to ensure that the parliamentary elections in Georgia are conducted in a “free, safe, and peaceful environment.” Reportedly, the notorious Special Tasks Department of the MIA, led by the U.S.-sanctioned Zviad Kharazishvili (Khareba), is also part of the territorial groups responsible for a “free, safe and peaceful environment.”

The fact-finding mission by Partner Organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium issued its interim findings, indicating that press freedom and the safety of journalists are at risk, the polarization is rising and there is a climate of fear in the country. The findings have been issued following the mission’s visit to Tbilisi from October 1 to October 2.

The head of the de-facto delegation of the occupied Tskhinvali region to the IPRM, Yegor Kochiev, confirmed that two Georgian citizens illegally detained on September 16 had been remanded pre-trial detention for two months and face up to five years in prison under Article 322 (3) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for attempting to remove a sign marking the so-called “border” of the occupied region.

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