The Georgian people deserve democracy, not autocracy—they aspire to integration with Europe, not isolation, reads a statement issued by the European People’s Party (EPP).

“As the Georgian people continue their fight for their freedoms and a European future, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ‘Georgian Dream’ held yet another fraudulent election on October 4, marked by the lowest voter turnout in Georgia’s history, which major opposition parties boycotted amid repression and violence against regime opponents. Recent detentions and threats of persecution from ‘Georgian Dream’ representatives aim to restrict people’s right to protest, suppress the pro-Western opposition, and instill widespread fear in society,” the statement reads.

According to the statement, the European People’s Party “calls on the European Union to impose sanctions against those undermining the rule of law and human rights in Georgia.”

“We call on ‘Georgian Dream’ to stop violence and repression and to respect the European aspirations of the Georgian people. We urge the European Union and its member states to impose targeted sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili and his enablers who are complicit in undermining democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Georgia,” the statement notes.