Salome Zurabishvili, the President of Georgia, said in a detailed interview with the opposition-leaning TV Pirveli that she had already selected the candidate for the position of Prime Minister. She refused to reveal the name of the candidate and noted that the candidate did not have any political background. The President believes that the future ministerial nominees should be professionals, not politicians. In an interview she also promised that Georgia would resume its European integration process as soon as possible after the elections and formation a coalition government.
On October 3, Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron met in Paris. The meeting between the two Presidents has yet to be covered by an official release on the contents of the talks. Only Emmanuel Macron shared a Facebook message saying, “France welcomes Georgia’s European and democratic aspirations.” We hope that the October 26 elections will allow Georgia to resume their European path.”
ALDE (Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe) adopted a Georgia resolution, stressing the importance for democratic reforms and fair and free elections, and condemning regressive democratic practices and the persecution of opponents of the Georgian Dream Government. The resolution calls for sanctions against Bidzina and his family, as well as “duplication” of sanctions already imposed by the U.S. on those undermining Georgia’s democracy.
Sergey Lavrov met with Akhsar JIOEV, the de facto foreign minister of South Ossetia in Moscow. Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, met with the de facto Foreign Minister of South Ossetia, Akhsar Jioev in Moscow.
Pawel Herczynski – the EU Ambassador to Georgia – called on Georgians in a press conference to reach a “historically large” turnout at the upcoming elections. He said that the future of the country lies in the citizens’ hands. Herczynski said that Georgia’s EU ambitions depend on free, transparent, and fair elections. He expressed his willingness to work with any democratically-elected government after the elections.
Interior Minister Vakhtang Gommelauri issued a decret establishing territorial groups consisting of police officers to “detect and prevent violations during the pre-election and election day” According to the decree the notorious Special Tasks Department (MIA) led by the U.S. sanctioned Zviad Kharazishvili, also known as Khareba, is part of the territorial group responsible for a free, safe and peaceful atmosphere.
The fact-finding missions by Partner Organisations of the Council of Europe Platform for the Safety of Journalists (PFJ) and the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium (MFRR), released their interim findings. They indicated that press freedom and the security of journalists were at risk, the polarization was rising, and there was a climate of anxiety in the country. The findings were released following the mission’s trip to Tbilisi between October 1 and October 2.
Yegor Kochiev confirmed that the two Georgian citizens who were illegally detained in Tskhinvali on September 16 have been remanded to pre-trial custody for two months. They could face up to five-years imprisonment under Article 322(3) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for attempting remove a sign marking the “border” of the region occupied.
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