Georgian President Salome Zourabisvili said today that the country’s parliament has no legitimacy after October’s elections, with the president stressing that she has no plans to step down when her term ends in December.

Zurabishvili told a press conference that the presidency remains the only legitimate institution in the country.

The president made the remarks amid fresh protests today in the capital Tbilisi and other cities, protests that began after Prime Minister Irakli Kombakhitze announced days ago that Georgia was suspending accession negotiations with the European Union.

Georgia has been in a period of political turmoil following the disputed victory of Georgian Dream in parliamentary elections held in late October, although the pro-Western opposition and President Zourabisvili have alleged irregularities. The opposition is boycotting the new parliament and there have been successive demonstrations, which have not been able to make the government retreat.

Today, for the third consecutive night of demonstrations, thousands of pro-European demonstrators took to the streets of Tbilisi. Streets in the center of the capital, near Parliament, were filled with protesters, some holding EU and Georgian flags, AFP reporters said.

Georgian Dream and its government are accused by political opponents of pushing the former Soviet republic away from EU membership and instead seeking a rapprochement with Moscow. Many Georgians, however, see Russia, which invaded Georgia in 2008, as a threat to their country.

Georgia was granted candidate status in December 2023 but then Brussels froze the process, accusing the government of a serious setback to democracy. The Georgian government, for its part, announced yesterday that it is postponing accession negotiations until the end of 2028.

Following this decision, thousands of pro-European Georgians took to the streets to demonstrate with the police cracking down and making arrests.