Ex-President Saakashvili: I Plan to Return to Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, November 30
Ex-President of Georgia and the founder of the former ruling party United National Movement (UNM) says he will return to Georgia no matter what price it will cost him.
Saakashvili, who is in exile in the Netherlands due to various charges against him in Georgia, commented on the November 28 runoff of the presidential elections, where ruling Georgian Dream (GD) supported candidate Salome Zourabichvili got 59.52% and UNM member Grigol Vashadze – 40.48%.
Saakashvili assessed the presidential elections as illegitimate in his video address. According to him, the population was not allowed to express their will.
He also called on the people to boycott the election results and declare mass-disobedience.
"This dirty oligarch abused the law, constitution and election institution. What we saw today was not elections or democratic processes. We saw bribery, wounding and beating of activists. All this is not democracy. All this was not free expression of people’s will. These were not legitimate elections,” he said, referring to the GD founder and Chair, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The ex-president noted that the Georgian society should realize the dangers and save Georgia.
"We are moving to mass disobedience from now, no matter what the results are. I call on the Georgian police and troops to stay away from the criminal mafia,” he added.
Saakashvili’s appeal to the society was evaluated as the “personal idea of one man” by UNM’s Grigol Vashadze.
“This is the personal idea of one man. If I shared this position, it would be shared by the United Opposition as well,” he added.
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker and the Head of Zourabichvili’s Election Headquarters, Irakli Kobakhidze says Saakashvili does not “adequately realize the developments in the country.”
“Saakashvili is not well-aware of the recent situation and his statement is the result of this,” he noted.
Mikheil Saakashvili used to be the President of Georgia from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013.
