Zourabichvili slams OSCE’s planned visit, calls for elections as “sole solution” to crisis

Former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has denounced the planned visit of Pia Kauma, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, to Georgia, saying it “outrages the people standing on the Tbilisi streets for 40 nights, protesting rigged elections, and turn to Russia.”

In a statement posted on the social platform X, Zourabichvili said: “Such an ill-timed visit will not contribute to resolving the crisis, only elections can do that!” She emphasized: “This is a shared concern of all Georgia’s European and American partners who care about stability, democracy, and human rights in Georgia. Those should be your only goal, the only means being new elections applying OSCE recommendations.”

The criticism follows comments from European Parliamentarian Richard Kohl, who announced that Kauma, accompanied by an OSCE delegation, is scheduled to visit Georgia from January 8 to 10 to address political tensions.

The protests in Tbilisi, now in their 40th night, have seen demonstrators calling for new elections as the only way to restore public trust following claims of election rigging and the Government’s decision last month to halt EU accession talks until 2028.