Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s pro-European president, insists she will remain in office until new legislative elections are held, amid political unrest following disputed elections. Opposition parties are boycotting Parliament, claiming election irregularities, while Zourabichvili seeks to annul the results legally. A former diplomat with a storied career, she became Georgia’s first female president in 2018, advocating for democratic progress and European integration. Georgia recently achieved candidate status for EU membership, a significant step in its political aspirations.
Salome Zourabichvili’s Stand on Presidency
Amidst a significant political crisis in Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, the pro-European leader, has made it clear that she will not step down from her presidential role until new legislative elections are conducted. In a recent exclusive interview with AFP, she asserted, “As long as there are no new elections and a Parliament that will elect a new president according to new rules, my mandate will continue.”
The Political Landscape in Georgia
The political turmoil in Georgia escalated after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, announced its victory in the legislative elections held on October 26. This announcement has been met with backlash from pro-EU opposition parties, who claim the elections were fraught with irregularities. In response, these opposition groups have chosen to boycott the newly formed Parliament, while Zourabichvili is pursuing legal action to annul the election results through the Constitutional Court.
During her interview, Zourabichvili emphasized that no external democratic partners have acknowledged the election outcomes, positioning herself as “the only legitimate institution of the country.”
Born in Paris in the 1950s to Georgian immigrants who fled the Soviet invasion of their homeland, Zourabichvili has a rich educational background. She attended Sciences Po Paris and later Columbia University, where she focused on international affairs and Russian studies. Fluent in multiple languages, including Italian and English, she also possesses basic knowledge of Russian and German.
At just 22, she joined the French diplomatic service, serving in various capacities, including at the French embassy in Rome and the permanent mission to the UN in New York. Her distinguished career also includes roles in NATO and advising the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In 2003, Zourabichvili was appointed as France’s ambassador to Tbilisi and, in a remarkable turn of events, became Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 2004. However, she was dismissed by President Saakashvili just a year and a half later. Despite this setback, Zourabichvili has remained a prominent figure in Georgian politics, even founding the opposition party “Way of Georgia” in 2006.
After a brief hiatus from politics, she returned in 2016 as an independent candidate and was later elected as the first female president of Georgia in November 2018. During her inauguration, she expressed her commitment to advancing Georgia’s democratic development and its integration into Europe, aiming to make this path irreversible.
Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union have been ongoing for a decade, a pursuit complicated by its relationship with Russia. In December 2023, Georgia was officially granted candidate status for European Union membership, marking a significant milestone in its political journey.