Georgian president says she does not recognize presidential election as legitimate

By Davit Kachkachishvili

TBLISI, Georgia (AA) - Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announced Friday that she does not recognize the legitimacy of the presidential election scheduled for Saturday.

Zourabichvili highlighted at a news conference that for the first time in Georgian history, the president will be elected by a 300-member electoral college convening in parliament.

Reiterating her intention to remain in office until new parliamentary elections are held, Zourabichvili said: “I'm not going anywhere, I'm not leaving the office, I'm here and I'll be here.”

Zourabichvili, who also rejected the results of the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections, urged the government to hold new elections.

- Presidential elections in Georgia

Under constitutional amendments passed in 2017, the president will be elected by an electoral college starting in 2024.

Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili confirmed that the election will proceed Dec. 14.

- Parliamentary elections

The ruling Georgian Dream Party won the October elections with 53.93% of the vote.

Zourabichvili and opposition parties, however, have accused the government of electoral fraud, rejecting the results and initiating protests.