I Will Not Step Down - Georgia's President

Amid mass protests in the country on Saturday, November 30, Salome Zourabichvili said that she would not leave her post, as she considers the parliament “illegitimate,” Orda.kz reports.

I remain your president, there is no legitimate parliament. Accordingly, an illegitimate parliament will not be able to elect a new president. Therefore, the inauguration will not take place. And my mandate continues until there is a legitimately elected parliament, she said in her address.

Georgia's presidential elections are scheduled for December 14, with the inauguration scheduled for December 29. The ruling party, Georgian Dream—Democratic Georgia, has named MP Mikheil Kavelashvili, known for his anti-Western position, as its presidential candidate.

For the first time, the new head of Georgia could be elected by 300 electors, not by universal suffrage as before. 

Meanwhile, the situation in the country remains tense.

Protesters continue to barricade the streets and launch fireworks at law enforcement and have torched an effigy of the leader of the Georgian Dream party, Ivanishvili.

At night, Georgian police officers used tear gas to disperse protesters in central Tbilisi, the BBC Russian Service reports.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova