No free local elections will take place tomorrow. It will be a mere farce and a mockery of society, stated Georgia’s fifth President, Salome Zurabishvili.

Salome Zurabishvili also responded to statements by “Georgian Dream” leaders regarding the protest rally planned for October 4, calling their statements in this regard a “farce” as well.

“I want to first respond to and address Irakli Kobakhidze, who today claimed that fair, extraordinary elections will be held tomorrow. At the same time, he threatened that some sort of overthrow was being planned. Both claims are lies. No fair, free local elections will take place tomorrow. It will be a mere farce and a mockery of the society that has been peacefully taking to the streets for over 300 days—effectively, for a year, because the first protests began after the elections, signaling that we do not recognize rigged elections. The people who come out to reclaim their voice and their elections will not be satisfied with the farce that will take place tomorrow. It is neither free, nor is there any chance of a breakthrough or fixing anything. These are elections held under the conditions of a typical dictatorship. Not long ago, we saw an example of this in Russia as well,” stated Salome Zurabishvili.

According to her, after the regime discredited several parties through elections, it is now trying to discredit the remaining parties by associating them with “so-called radicalism.”

Zurabishvili stated that she does not intend to go to the elections tomorrow and will be at the rally.

“It may be an even bigger lie when Kobakhidze predicts that there will be an attempt at an overthrow involving everyone—this, too, is a farce and an insult to the society that, over these days and throughout the year, has shown the world its resilience, endurance, and highly peaceful protests. Not a single day has seen violence or any such attempt. Up to 200,000 people came out, and many may come out tomorrow as well, showing the world that resistance can be expressed in a highly peaceful manner. This is a great example, and it is why we are recognized by our partners, earning their support and contributing to the regime’s isolation.

This cannot all be ended with a supposed orchestrated overthrow. This is an attempt, after the regime discredited several parties through elections, to discredit the remaining parties by associating them with some grand radical unification, and most importantly, to suppress the large peaceful protest that has been ongoing and will continue tomorrow. This is the main force, and it is the force that this regime has not been able to counter in any way. Sometimes there are many people, sometimes more, sometimes fewer, but it could not be defeated because it could not be thrown off balance. This force stands and will continue to stand until we achieve satisfaction of our main demands, which remain—parliamentary elections and the peaceful change of the regime that has robbed us of our European future.

There is no such thing as a third republic; first of all, there isn’t even a second republic. We restored independence in 1991, and we did so based on the first constitution. Sometimes, knowledge of the constitution and history is a good thing.

So, all of this is a farce as well. We must not be drawn in or swept away by this regime. Let us all remain calm. I will not go to the elections tomorrow, and I will be with my people at the peaceful rally tomorrow, as I have been at every significant major rally and will continue to be until it is necessary. Until the end,” stated Zurabishvili.