The Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) has approved a statement stating that the country does not recognize the new parliament, government, and new president of Georgia.
This is reported by the Estonian broadcaster ERR.
Estonia does not recognize the Georgian parliament and government formed after the parliamentary elections last October, saying they were marred by fraud and intimidation and do not reflect the will of the people of that country. The country also considers the new Georgian president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was elected by an electoral college with an absolute majority of the pro-government Georgian Dream party, illegitimate.
The Estonian Parliament calls on the European Commission and EU Member States to impose sanctions against politicians and other officials in Georgia who are involved in the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations and the persecution of citizens who defend the rights of Georgian society.
In return, Estonia considers Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili legitimate and recognizes her attempts to end the constitutional crisis in the country. The Estonian parliament stressed that their country stands in solidarity with the people of Georgia, who are defending their human rights, Constitution, democracy and future in the European Union.
Presidential elections in Georgia
The presidential elections in Georgia were held on December 14. The electoral college, with an absolute majority of the pro-government Georgian Dream party, elected Mikheil Kavelashvili as head of state.
Against this backdrop, the single-party parliament has passed a number of bills, one of which would strip Zurabishvili of state protection after the end of her presidential term.
In October, Georgiaʼs Constitutional Court ruled that Zurabishvili had violated the law by traveling to Europe without government approval. The government had denied the president access to meetings abroad, so she traveled to European partners at her own expense.
What preceded this
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in October. According to the Central Election Commission, the pro-government, pro-Russian party Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia won, gaining 53.9% of the vote. Under Georgian law, this party has the right to form a government alone. The European Parliament did not recognize the election results.
Four more pro-Western opposition parties broke the 5% barrier. The opposition and the president disagreed with the results, and protests began.
On November 28, 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would abandon EU accession negotiations until 2028. He explained that 2028 would supposedly be the time when Georgia would be economically ready to begin accession negotiations. After that, large-scale protests began in the country, which were dispersed by security forces using water cannons and tear gas.
Amid the violent dispersal of the rallies, the US suspended the US-Georgian strategic partnership, and Georgian representatives in several European Union countries and the US announced that they were resigning from their duties.
Ukraine has also imposed sanctions against the Georgian authorities for their crackdown on protests. The United Kingdom will also suspend support for the Georgian authorities and limit cooperation with them.