INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Protests appeared in Georgia on Thursday after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated the country would not pursue European Union accession
up until 2028, accusing Brussels of blackmail
The announcement came hours after the European Parliament embraced a non-binding resolution declining the results of Georgias Oct
26 parliamentary elections, declaring substantial irregularities
The resolution required brand-new elections within a year under global supervision and for sanctions to be imposed on leading Georgian
authorities, including Kobakhidze.Accusing the European Parliament and some European politicians of blackmail, Kobakhidze said: We have
actually chosen not to bring up the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda up until completion of 2028
But he pledged to continue executing reforms, asserting that by 2028, Georgia will be more prepared than any other candidate nation to open
accession talks with Brussels and end up being a member state in 2030
The previous Soviet country formally acquired EU candidate status in December 2023
But Brussels has frozen Georgias accession process until Tbilisi takes concrete actions to address what it calls democratic
backsliding.Opposition legislators are boycotting the brand-new parliament, alleging scams in the October elections, in which the judgment
Georgian Dream party got a brand-new majority.Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili at loggerheads with Georgian Dream has actually
stated the tally unconstitutional and is seeking to annul the election results through the Constitutional Court.Following Kobakhidzes
declaration, street protests appeared in Tbilisi and several significant cities throughout Georgia.Waving EU and Georgian flags, thousands
rallied outdoors parliament, obstructing traffic on the Georgian capitals primary road
Georgian Dream didnt win the elections, it staged a coup
There is no genuine parliament or government in Georgia, stated 20-year-old demonstrator Shota Sabashvili
We will not let this self-proclaimed prime minister damage our European future
In the western city of Kutaisi, police detained several demonstrators, the independent Pirveli TV station reported.Zurabishvili held an
emergency conference with foreign diplomats, her workplace said
Today marks a significant point, or rather, the conclusion of the constitutional coup that has actually been unfolding for several weeks,
she informed a press conference together with opposition leaders
Today, this non-existent and invalid government declared war on its own individuals, she added, calling herself the countrys sole genuine
On Thursday, Georgian Dream MPs voted unanimously for Kobakhidze to continue as prime minister.But constitutional law specialists have said
any choices made by the brand-new parliament are invalid because it approved its own credentials in offense of a legal requirement to await
a court judgment on Zurabishvilis bid to annul the election results.
