Parliament calls for new elections in Georgia

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the 26 October parliamentary elections in Georgia, an EU candidate country, for being neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding of the country “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible”. MEPs denounce the numerous and serious electoral violations, including documented cases of intimidation of voters, vote manipulation, interference with election observers and media and reported manipulation involving electronic voting machines. The vote results announced by the country’s Central Election Commission “do not serve as a reliable representation of the will of the Georgian people”, they add. Parliament rejects any recognition of the parliamentary elections as a result, as the international community should too, and MEPs want the elections re-run within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration.