Did Georgian president just ask EU to undermine her country's democracy?

Georgia’s outgoing president on Wednesday called on the European Union to overthrow the country’s newly elected government and hold a new election, raising concerns about potential foreign political interference and its threat to the country's democratic institutions.

“Europe needs to find the leverage to act. If Europe cannot exert leverage on a country of 3.7 million, how can it expect to compete with the giants of the 21st century?” Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.

Zourabichvili has been a vocal supporter of EU intervention in the Black Sea country, which elected the Georgian Dream party in the October 26 parliamentary elections.

With the majority in the parliament, the Georgian Dream party held a vote to elect a new president on December 14. The new President Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former striker of the Manchester City club, will take office on December 29.

But Zourabichvili has refused to step down, citing irregularities in the parliamentary elections. Independent election bodies have affirmed that the October 26 parliamentary vote was competitive and fundamental freedoms were respected.

Zourabichvili is backed by a coalition of pro-Western opposition that has staged violent protests in Tbilisi in recent weeks.

The opposition claims its demonstrations are in response to the government's decision to abandon EU accession talks.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has clarified on numerous occasions that EU accession talks have merely been delayed due to Brussels’s interference in the Caucasian country’s internal affairs.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status for membership in December 2023, but put the accession bid on hold and cut financial support in June after passing a “foreign influence” law.

The law, which requires NGOs receiving over 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register and face monitoring, has become a bone of contention in the country's political process.

The Western governments and media were quick to label it as a ‘Russian law’. However, the Georgian government says the law merely tries to keep a check on NGOs that have tried to promote foreign agendas in the country.

Amid the pressure building on Georgia's elected government, EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to impose visa restrictions on some Georgian diplomats and government officials.

Zourabichvili suggested that this wasn't enough, and she urged the world’s biggest trading bloc to use its weight as Georgia’s largest donor, economic market and home to the South Caucasus country’s biggest diaspora.

“If we are honest, Europe so far has not fully lived (up) to the moment. Europe has, so far, met the challenge halfway,” she said.

Kavelashvili became Georgia’s new president on Saturday following a free and fair election in October that the opposition alleges was rigged with Russia’s help.

“While European flags are being banned in Tbilisi, Georgians are still waiting for binding measures to come from Brussels and Washington,” Zourabichvili said, and she added that the street protests won't stop “until Georgia gets a free and fair election.”

Georgian police have reported arresting dozens of protesters on charges including disobedience and hooliganism.

Authorities claimed some protesters turned violent, attacking police, damaging property, and planning an explosion, citing relevant criminal laws with potential penalties of fines, community service, or imprisonment.