Anke Hilbrenner

Here's the full speech by @Zourabichvili_S: Good evening, everyone, First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the citizens of Georgia who voted for our European future. You were many, and you won these elections. No one has the right to take away our European future. I also want to thank those who, despite extremely unfair and unequal conditions, worked in election commissions to protect your votes. I extend my appreciation to journalists who fought under even more difficult circumstances to document as many violations as possible. However, the number and variety of these violations were so overwhelming that capturing everything in their reports became impossible. What we witnessed was unprecedented. It was a complete falsification and theft of your votes, using every available tactic we have seen both in other countries and in Georgia. Additionally, modern technologies were employed to cover up these manipulations—a level of deception we had not encountered before. We were not just witnesses but also victims of what can only be described as a Russian special operation—a new form of hybrid warfare waged against our people and our country. Several months ago, this government (which I now refer to as a regime, not a legitimate authority) adopted a Russian-style law. This was followed by a series of additional Russian-inspired laws, all of which violate European recommendations and obstruct our path toward a European future. Today, in this election, we were deprived of our voting rights. What took place was not a democratic election; it was a Russian election. They dismantled the electoral process, making it nearly impossible to imagine how future elections could be held fairly unless drastic changes are made. Our constitutional right to vote was stolen. Many citizens had their IDs confiscated, denying them the right to vote. Our emigrants were also deprived of participation, as polling stations were not opened, and additional obstacles were put in place. Out of 100,000 registered emigrants, only 33,000 managed to cast their votes, despite the tremendous efforts they made to register. Some traveled thousands of miles in the U.S. or overcame significant challenges in European cities just to vote—only to be denied that right. This issue demands investigation. There is much to investigate. I am grateful to our international partners and observer organizations who recorded these violations and did not hesitate to report what happened. However, simply documenting these violations is not enough. As the last independent institution in this country, I must clearly state that I do not recognize these elections. Recognizing them would be tantamount to legitimizing Russia’s takeover of Georgia. I did not return to this country, nor did our ancestors endure everything they did, to accept such an outcome. We cannot surrender our European future for the sake of future generations. I am not speaking just as an individual—I represent an institution that stands for the people of Georgia. I urge all citizens to stand together and declare that we do not recognize these elections. We will not accept Russia’s infiltration and this new form of occupation. We stand united, and with me now are political parties that participated in these elections, defending both our European future and the Georgian Charter. I invite you to join us tomorrow at 7:00 PM on Rustaveli Avenue, where together we will declare to the world—and to each other—that we reject these elections. We will peacefully defend every vote and, most importantly, our future. Our goal is to ensure that free, fair, and democratic elections can still take place in this country. We will not surrender this right to anyone. It belongs to us, and we will assert it together tomorrow. This will be a symbolic gathering—a united declaration to the world. I also appeal to our international partners—Europeans and Americans. While we are grateful for the statements of support made by various officials, it must be understood beyond borders that protecting Georgia and maintaining the geopolitical balance in this region means protecting the people, not collaborating with an illegitimate government. Without your active support, this country’s people cannot be safeguarded. Just as you stood by the people of Georgia when the regime attempted to pass a Russian-style law, you must now stand by us—the people—again. These elections were not legitimate, and nothing can make them so. Thank you very much!