Georgian PM warns Zurabishvili against calling new elections
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on December 22 that if Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili decides to call new parliamentary elections or refuses to leave the residence of the head of state, it will threaten her with criminal liability.
"I am sure that she will have enough common sense not to violate the norms of the Criminal Code," Georgian TV Channel One quoted Kobakhidze as saying at a briefing on December 22.
He emphasized that no one would like to send the 72-year-old woman to prison, but by the above-mentioned actions she would have framed herself and all her associates in the presidential administration. According to Kobakhidze, she will have to resign on December 29, when Zurabishvili's term of office expires.
Earlier, on December 17, Zurabishvili once again said that she will not give up her mandate on December 29. She intends to hold her post until the next parliamentary elections and called on the EU to support the opposition protests. After that, the politician said she has no plans to act from emigration and will remain in the country.
Thepresidential election in Georgia was held on December 14. For the first time, not citizens but a panel of 300 electors voted for a candidate for the post of head of state. Mikhail Kavelashvili, a candidate from the Georgian Dream party, won the election. He received 200 votes. According to Middle East and Caucasus expert Stanislav Tarasov, Zurabishvili may create an opposition parliament, which threatens dual power in the country and a scenario of force.
At the same time, protests continue in Georgia because of the suspension of negotiations on European integration and the opposition's disagreement with the results of the parliamentary elections held in late October, the results of which Zurabishvili also does not recognize.
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