The inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled for January 20, 2025, at the Capitol building in Washington, Report informs via USA Today.
Day: November 6, 2024
Excellent points raised on the unblocking of transport routes in #SouthCaucasus and how #Armenia can take advantage of it, by former PM Khosrov Haroutiunian. (in Armenian, you can watch starting from the 11th minute).https://t.co/82ejrIa7c5
— Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 (@yeghig) November 6, 2024
On November 6, representatives of European countries calling themselves “Friends of Georgia” issued a joint statement, calling for an international inquiry commission to investigate irregularities of Georgian elections and for sanctions to be imposed on Bidzina Ivanishvili and officials and political leaders responsible for the country’s democratic backsliding.
The statement emphasizes the signatories’ strong commitment to stand with nations that uphold the values of democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and with the Georgian people and their European choice. It also notes their “deep regret” at Georgia’s recent democratic backsliding “including the enactment of anti-European legislation limiting the space for independent civil society organizations and human rights.”
The signatories also reiterate their “deep concern” about the Georgian elections, which were “marked with the unprecedented number of incidents and systemic violations“, reported by international observers. Noting that “integrity of elections and upholding the rule of law” is an integral part of European values to which “Georgia as an EU candidate country has to demonstrate its commitment,” the signatories demand:
- that all allegations of electoral manipulation (including, during the pre-election period), especially with regard to voter intimidation and vote buying must be transparently investigated;
- that, as the allegations at hand are so serious, that only the independent international inquiry can address and investigate these elections and of all reported violations in the pre-electoral period and during the elections;
- making the voting protocols available and publicly transparent, so that each voter can verify if the information on their voting fact, time and place is factually accurate;
- repealing of the legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and organizations and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded.
The signatories also call on the EU and the trans-Atlantic allies to “impose sanctions on the officials and political leaders of Georgia, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, who are responsible for violations of the electoral process, including for the use of state institutions and administrative resources throughout the electoral process.” They also call for “freezing of all EU funds engaged in assistance and cooperation projects with the state and public institutions of Georgia with the exception of those dedicated to the supporting of civil society and the establishment of rule of law structures.”
The statement underlines the need for Georgia’s international partners to increase financial support for Georgia’s civil society and independent media, based on respect for democracy and the rule of law. In addition, the signatories note the importance of visa liberalization for Georgian youth and call on the EU Commission and Council to review it “without excluding the possibility of its full suspension if the above listed are not met.”
“We will continue standing with the Georgian people and their European choice. We will also continue supporting unwaveringly Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally established borders,” concludes the statement.
Signatories of the joint statement: Christine Schwartz-Fuchs, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Federal Council, Austria; Els Van Hoof, Chair, Committee of Foreign Affairs, Chamber of Representatives, Belgium; Pavel Fischer, Chair, Committee for Foreign Relations, Defense and Security, Senate, Czech Republic; Marko Mihkelson, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Estonia; Peeter Tali, Chair, European Affairs Committee, Estonia; Jukka Kopra, Chair, Defence Committee, Finland; Heikki Autto, Chair, Grand Committee, Finland; Sebastian Tynkkynen, Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Finland; Frédéric Petit, Deputy Chair, European Affairs Committee, Deputy Secretary General of European Democratic Party, France; Michael Roth, Chair, Committee on Foreign Relations, Bundestag, Germany; Anton Hofreiter, Chair, Committee on European Affairs, Bundestag, Germany; Rasa Juknevičienė, Vice-Chair, Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP; Raphaël Glucksmann, MEP; Rihards Kols, MEP; Charlie Flanagan, Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Cathaoirleach, Ireland; Lia Quartapelle, Deputy Chair, Foreign and European Community Affairs Committee, Chamber of Deputies, Italy; Ināra Mūrniece, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Latvia; Edmunds Cepurītis, Chair, European Affairs Committee, Latvia; Emanuelis Zingeris, Chair, Committee of Foreign Affairs, Lithuania; Žygimantas Pavilionis, Deputy Speaker, Chair, European Affairs Committee, Lithuania; Gusty Graas, Chair, Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg; Jesse Klaver, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Representatives, The Netherlands; Derk Boswijk, Member, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Representatives, The Netherlands; Ina Coseru, Chair, Foreign Policy and European Integration, Moldova; Agnieszka Pomaska, Chair, European Union Affairs Committee, Sejm, Poland; Bogdan Klich, Chair, European Union Affairs Committee, Senate, Poland; Carlos Rojas, Deputy Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Congress of Deputies, Spain; Pablo Hispan, Member, Foreign Affairs, EU, Defense Committees, Congress of Deputies, Poland; Erik Ottoson, Member of Riksdag, Sweden; Oleksandr Merezhko, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Ukraine.
Also Read:
- 06/11/2024 – Georgia’s Elections: Death By Dozen Daggers
- 06/11/2024 – TV Pirveli Investigation Exposes Alleged Schemes of Voter Pressure, Vote Buying, Carousels
- 05/11/2024 – Matthew Miller: U.S. Will Not Hesitate to Use Additional Measures
- 30/10/2024- HR/VP Borrell: Election Consolidates the Trend of Moving Country Away from EU
Saguramo in Georgia. Photo by Luka Tsetskhladze pic.twitter.com/8cUkoKPRNq
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) November 6, 2024
#Armenia considers talks without #Russia. Yerevan: direct talks with Baku on unblocking routes “possible” via @JAMnewsCaucasus https://t.co/svtbA6Qw9Y
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) November 6, 2024
Judge Vladimer Khuchua of the Tetritskaro municipality, who confirmed that the secrecy of the ballot had been violated in the October 26 elections, thus invalidating the results of 30 polling stations, has become the subject of a discrediting campaign by Georgian Dream-affiliated media, anonymous social media pages and individuals, according to the election watchdog International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).
“Shortly after the announcement of the court’s decision, discrediting messages against the judge began to spread on the social media platforms Facebook and TikTok,” ISFED says. The watchdog notes that the campaign was orchestrated by pro-government media outlets: Imedi, Info9, Newshub, POSTV; anonymous anti-opposition pages and accounts, as well as pro-government actors and pro-government so-called experts. “It is noteworthy that the posts were spread at short intervals with identical messages,” the watchdog says.
Judge Vladimer Khuchua ruled in favor of complaints filed by another watchdog, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), and confirmed that the secrecy of the ballot had been violated in the 2024 parliamentary election because the ballot paper was so thin that it was possible to see on the other side of the paper who the person had voted for.
Shortly after Kuchua’s decision was announced, President Salome Zurabishvili responded by writing: “One judge dared to acknowledge that the electronic machines did breach voting confidentiality. 30 precincts have been canceled, 2200 are concerned … and the legitimacy of the elections!!!”
ISFED notes that the discrediting campaign against the Vladimer Khuchua accused him of bias in favor of the opposition focusing on the fact that his wife is an opposition supporter. “The pro-government actors call Khuchua’s wife “the activist of the radical opposition” and note that Khuchua made the decision under her influence,” ISFED says providing the relevant screenshots of posts by actors such as the main pro-government mouthpiece TV Imedi and the propagandist pro-government POSTV below:
The pro-government Imedi news on Facebook reads: “The first-instance judge Vladimer Khuchua has annulled the results of several districts. Khuchua’s wife, Elza Gurgenidze, is a radical opposition activist.”
A pro-government POSTV post says: “The wife from the protest. The husband from the courtroom. The family of Khuchua/Gurgenidze in the service of the radical opposition.”
ISFED also cites other similar social media posts by several GD-affiliated anonymous pages and individuals.
In addition, such messages were also spread by the anti-opposition movement, such as the GD offshoot United Neutral Georgia, and by individuals claiming to be experts. Vato Shakarishvili, the leader of United Neutral Georgia, even accused the West of influencing the judge’s decision.
“Some of the posts contained hate speech. Among them were sexist and abusive messages. The main focus of the shared post was that the woman had influenced the decision of the judge of the Tetritskaro municipality. At the same time, the media outlet POSTV shared a homophobic post about Khuchua’s family,” ISFED says, citing relevant screenshots of the posts.
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