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叠10鈥�0184/2024

European 合法博彩网站 resolution on Georgia鈥檚 worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud

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鈥�听having regard to its previous resolutions and reports on Georgia, most notably its resolution of 25听April听2024 on attempts to reintroduce a foreign agent law in Georgia and its restrictions on civil society[1],

鈥�听having regard to the European Council decision of December 2023 to grant Georgia EU candidate status,

鈥�听having regard to the recommendations of the Commission鈥檚 staff working document of 8听November听2023 entitled 鈥楪eorgia 2023 Report鈥� (SWD(2023)0697),

鈥�听having regard to the international standards and principles for democratic elections that ensure free, fair and transparent processes, which Georgia is expected to uphold,

鈥�听having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.听whereas on 26听October听2024 Georgia held parliamentary elections in which the Central Election Commission of Georgia reported that the ruling Georgian Dream party had won with 53.92听% of the vote, more than in the previous parliamentary elections in 2020 and 2016, enabling it to form a government; whereas the official election results have been rejected by the opposition and many international observers and monitors, who found that the election did not meet international standards and that the results do not accurately reflect the true will of the Georgian people;

B.听whereas almost all the polls held before the election showed the opposition parties to be leading Georgian Dream by a wide margin;

C.听whereas the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, and opposition parties refused to recognise the results of the elections, asserting that acknowledging the outcome would be tantamount to 鈥榓ccepting Georgia鈥檚 subjugation to Russia鈥�; whereas the President of Georgia described the election process as a 鈥楻ussian special operation鈥� and characterised it as a new form of hybrid warfare targeting the Georgian people and state; whereas she appealed to the Constitutional Court, alleging violations of the constitutional principles of secrecy of the vote and universal suffrage during the 26听October听2024 parliamentary elections and is demanding that the final results be declared unconstitutional;

D.听whereas the scale of electoral fraud and manipulation was unprecedented, based on independent exit polls conducted by Edison Research and HarrisX, along with credible reports from the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, My Vote and other independent domestic observation missions, and whereas statistical analyses reveal severe electoral interference;

E.听whereas independent reports claim over 120听000 cases of compromised ballot secrecy documented by international observers, over 15听000 reported cases of fraudulent identification practices, approximately 50听000 instances of potential identity theft identified through voter list analysis, with 82听% of election commission members being found to have direct ties to the ruling party, with systematic obstruction of more than 2听500 genuine observers across polling stations, and unauthorised video surveillance in 60听% of polling stations, directly violating Article听8 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

F.听whereas this level of malpractice supports the claims that there was a 鈥榣arge scheme鈥� to rig the 2024 parliamentary elections, involving multiple violations that also included a pre-election climate of fear and intimidation of civil society, including the passage of the 鈥榝oreign agents law鈥�, reports of vote buying, coercion and pressure on voters, violations of voter privacy, physical altercations, imprisonment of the leader of the main opposition party and controversial changes to election administration rules prior to the vote;

G.听whereas an international election observation mission consisting of 529 observers from 42 countries, including an official electoral delegation from the European 合法博彩网站, reported that the elections were marred by entrenched polarisation and expressed concerns over recently adopted legislation and its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society; whereas the international election observation mission also noted highly divisive campaign rhetoric and widespread reports of pressure on voters amid deepening political divisions, significant imbalances in financial resources and the many advantages enjoyed by the ruling party that contributed to an already uneven playing field;

H.听whereas the election results have been met with significant domestic unrest while opposition parties and President Salome Zurabishvili called for new elections;

I.听whereas protests in Tbilisi initially erupted on 28听October听2024, with thousands gathering to challenge the legitimacy of the ruling party鈥檚 declared victory; whereas the demonstrations continued on 4听November听2024, growing in scale and intensity;

J.听whereas since then protests in Tbilisi have continued, with politicians from many EU countries 鈥� including the Baltic states, Finland, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden 鈥� joining the protests, signalling international support and concern over the legitimacy of the outcome of the elections and Georgia鈥檚 political trajectory;

K.听whereas the ruling Georgian Dream party has taken numerous actions that directly undermine the Georgian people鈥檚 European aspirations, the most notable example being a law of 28听May听2024 on 鈥榯ransparency of foreign influence鈥� (鈥榝oreign agents law鈥�), which has largely been seen as based on an infamous law that Russia has used extensively to crack down on dissent;

L.听whereas there is still an exceptionally high level of support among the Georgian population for joining the EU, with over 80听% of people in favour;

M.听whereas the founder of the Georgian Dream party, dominant oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, openly returned to active politics on 30听December听2023, becoming 鈥榟onorary chair鈥� of the party; whereas, as honorary chair, the updated party statute bestows upon Ivanishvili a range of prerogatives, thus formalising the concentration of power in his hands, without outlining any accountability mechanisms;

N.听whereas Mikheil Saakashvili, who served as President of Georgia from 2004 until 2013 and is a leader of the largest opposition party, has been detained since October听2022, has been mistreated in prison and been subjected to humiliating treatment during court hearings, representing a clear and present threat to the integrity of Georgia鈥檚 democratic credentials;

O.听whereas Georgia鈥檚 recent elections exposed many of the problems that have been hindering the country鈥檚 democratisation process over the last few years;

P.听whereas Georgian Dream鈥檚 narrative is that the West is trying to push Georgia into a renewed war with Russia, which invaded Georgia in 2008 and continues to occupy part of its territory; whereas this anti-Western communication strategy was used by the Georgian Dream party to justify its avoidance of aligning with EU statements against Belarus or Iran and its refusal to support Moldova and Ukraine鈥�;

1.听Reiterates its steadfast support for Georgia鈥檚 democratic development and the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of its people;

2.听Underlines that numerous credible reports by both domestic and international monitors and election observers of election intimidation, vote buying and irregularities are serious and widespread enough to call the legitimacy of Georgia鈥檚 election results into question as not reflecting the will of the Georgian people;

3.听Remains concerned about the Georgian Dream government鈥檚 human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions; strongly condemns Georgian Dream鈥檚 conduct throughout the parliamentary elections; underlines that such attempts to politically control or curb the activities of civil society undermine democratic values and are contrary to Commission recommendations;

4.听Stands in full solidarity with the Georgian people and Georgia鈥檚 vibrant civil society, which traditionally has played a very active and central role in bringing the country closer to the West, promoting democratisation and pushing for Euro-Atlantic integration in line with the desires of the Georgian people; in this regard, deplores the growing anti-Western and hostile rhetoric of the ruling party鈥檚 representatives towards Georgia鈥檚 strategic Western partners, including the United States, the European Union, including its MEPs and officials, and its promotion of Russian disinformation and manipulation;

5.听Is alarmed by the continuous and highly disturbing cases of intimidation and violence against the opposition, as well as by the threats of further repression voiced by Georgian Dream leadership, including oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, to outlaw the democratic pro-Western opposition and silence dissent;

6.听Calls for the EU to initiate a comprehensive international assessment of the 2024 elections through an EU Election Follow-up Mission working in coordination with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to thoroughly investigate electoral fraud, evaluate the integrity of the electoral institutions, give recommendations for future elections, and reiterate that the EU accession process for Georgia has stalled as a result of the government鈥檚 policies prior to the elections and to the conduct of the parliamentary elections;

7.听Calls for the EU to suspend all formal EU-level communications with the existing Georgian Government and 合法博彩网站, including cancellation of EU-Georgia Association Council meetings, suspension of high-level political dialogue, freezing of technical cooperation mechanisms, introduction of visa requirements for Georgian officials travelling to the EU, redirecting of the financial assistance (approximately EUR听120听million annually) for the government to Georgian non-governmental organisations and the independent media and to support programmes promoting democratic resilience and electoral integrity;

8.听Calls on the Commission to step up and broaden its support for civil society in Georgia, especially in the light of the increasingly draconian measures being imposed on the Georgian people;

9.听Calls on all pro-democratic political parties that have received support from the Georgian electorate to formalise their coordination and to create a unified structure that would represent the pro-European aspirations of the Georgian people domestically and abroad;

10.听Expresses its concern over the series of brutal beatings of political figures, civil society leaders and journalists during and in the aftermath of the demonstrations against the foreign agents law this spring; expresses its concern that not a single perpetrator has been detained, charged or even identified, and calls upon the Georgian authorities to bring the perpetrators of such beatings to justice;

11.听Is deeply concerned by the increasing Russian influence in the country, as well as by the actions of the Georgian Dream government, which has pursued rapprochement with Russia 鈥� in spite of its creeping occupation of Georgian territory, and its aggression against Ukraine 鈥� by strengthening trade ties despite EU sanctions and refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow;

12.听Urges Georgia, as an EU candidate country, to honour its commitments by imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and by implementing measures to avoid the circumvention of European sanctions, as it has committed to doing;

13.听Reminds the Georgian Government that a large majority of the population strongly supports the country鈥檚 pro-Western course and its accession to the EU;

14.听Welcomes the personal sanctions imposed on Georgian Dream officials by the United States; calls for the EU to impose similar travel bans on those involved in the adoption of the foreign agents law and those implicated in election malpractice, and to extend such bans to other high-ranking members of the ruling party as well as to judges passing politically motivated sentences and those responsible for sanction circumvention as well as serving Russia鈥檚 military, economic and political goals;

15.听Strongly condemns the destructive personal role played by Georgia鈥檚 dominant oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, in orchestrating the ongoing political crisis and systematically sabotaging the country鈥檚 pro-Western trajectory in favour of alignment with Russia; deplores his continuous efforts to erode Georgia鈥檚 democratic institutions and betray the aspirations of its people; strongly reiterates its call for the Council and the EU鈥檚 democratic partners to impose immediate and targeted personal sanctions on Ivanishvili for his direct involvement in undermining Georgia鈥檚 political process and acting against the country鈥檚 fundamental interests, including efforts to restore Russia鈥檚 sphere of influence over the country;

16.听Underlines that suspending the visa liberalisation agreement with Georgia should be considered only after personal sanctions against members of the ruling party and dominant oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili are put in place;

17.听Strongly reiterates its urgent demand for the immediate and unconditional release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds so he can seek medical treatment abroad; calls on President Salome Zourabishvili to use her pardoning powers; emphasises that the Georgian Government bears full and undeniable responsibility for the life, health, safety and well-being of former President Mikheil Saakashvili and must be held fully accountable for any harm that befalls him;

18.听Regrets that MEPs have not been allowed to visit former President Saakashvili in the past to assess the conditions in which he is imprisoned; calls on the Georgian authorities to reverse its stance and allow visits by MEPs;

19.听Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission听/听High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and the President, Government and 合法博彩网站 of Georgia.

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