Georgia’s president challenges disputed election results in Constitutional Court

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili filed a lawsuit on Tuesday with the Constitutional Court, seeking to annul the results of last month’s parliamentary elections, citing violations in the voting process.

A statement on the website of her office said Zourabichvili filed the lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, demanding the final results of the parliamentary election held in late October be recognized as “unconstitutional.”

Zourabichvili’s office said that the president’s legal challenge is based on the “violation of the principles of universality and secrecy of the elections.”

Zourabichvili’s decision was based on the “violation of the principles of universality and secrecy of the elections,” it said.

Eka Beselia, President Zourabichvili’s representative, filed the lawsuit with the court in the coastal city of Batumi.

On Oct. 26, Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party won an 89-seat majority in the 150-seat parliament after receiving 53.93% of the vote.

However, Zourabichvili said she did not recognize the results, claiming that Georgians had witnessed a “Russian special operation” with the election, which opposition parties have labeled “stolen.”

Thousands rally in support of Zurabishvili

Meanwhile, thousands of Georgian opposition supporter rallied on Tuesday in support of President Salome Zurabishvili’s lawsuit to annul last month’s parliamentary election result, which the pro-Western opposition denounced as rigged in favour of the ruling party.

The rally took place hours after police violently dispersed a sit-in outside Tbilisi State University, where dozens of demonstrators had set up tents and blocked traffic to protest the controversial vote.

The Georgian opposition says the government is shifting the Caucasus country’s foreign policy towards Russia and derailing its path towards joining the European Union, a charge Georgian Dream rejects.