Georgia’s president yesterday urged the West to support opposition protests after the governing party was declared the winner of a parliamentary election that she alleged was rigged with the help of Russia.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who refused to recognize the official results, told The Associated Press that the South Caucasus nation has fallen victim to Russian pressure aimed at derailing Georgia’s plans to join the European Union.
“We’ve seen that Russian propaganda was directly used,” said Zourabichvili, a fierce critic of Georgian Dream, the governing party. She said the government has been “working hand-in-hand with Russia,” and “probably” received help from Moscow’s security services.
The U.S. and the European Union urged full investigations of the result of Saturday’s election.
“Georgians, like all Europeans, must be masters of their own destiny,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
On Sunday, Zourabichvili stood alongside opposition leaders and urged Georgians to join a rally on the main street of the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday night to protest what she called a “total falsification, a total stealing of your votes.”
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