Responding to the ‘election’ of the new President of Georgia today following disputed parliamentary elections that led to protests in the streets, violence deployed on protesters and unjust brutal crackdowns on opposition voices in the country, we, the Bureaus of Liberal International and ALDE Party, unite to issue the following joint statement:

We are deeply disappointed and concerned about the ‘election’ of the new President today by the College of Electors which is dominated solely by the ‘one party’ parliament constituted following the disputed elections. Since the election did not include opposition we do not feel this truly reflects the wishes of the Georgian people.

We continue to recognise the legitimately-elected President Salome Zourabichvili and her achievements, in accordance with Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution, towards ensuring the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

We condemn the consequences of the Georgian Dream’s unconstitutional actions and the democratic backsliding we are witnessing in Georgia and call on countries to duplicate and expand sanctions already imposed by the USA, Ukraine, and those anticipated from the EU against politicians involved in the adoption in the ‘foreign agents Russian Law’ and anti-democratic practices.