Is Georgia's pro-EU president secretly pushing a 'Deep State' agenda?

President Zourabichvili’s “blatantly unconstitutional” actions and accusations against the elected government are part of a deliberate plan to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis, says political analyst Ghia Abashidze

This file photo shows Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili at an opposition rally ahead of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct.ober 20, 2024. / Photo: AP
AP

This file photo shows Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili at an opposition rally ahead of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct.ober 20, 2024. / Photo: AP

Georgia is embroiled in a deepening political and constitutional crisis, with President Salome Zourabichvili at its centre. Zourabichvili—a former French national who served as France’s ambassador to Georgia from 2003 to 2004—has become a key opposition figure, steadfastly rejecting the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections, which saw the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party secure 89 out of 150 seats with a 53.93 percent vote share.

The pro-EU president and the opposition have accused the party of electoral fraud and Zourbichvili has refused to step down at the end of her term, sparking a constitutional standoff. Zourabichvili has also rallied ongoing opposition protests against the elected government in Tbilisi.

“Her refusal to recognise the elections and step down from office is not only highly unusual but also blatantly unconstitutional,” Georgian political analyst Ghia Abashidze tells TRT World in a phone call from Tbilisi. Abashidze argued that Zourabichvili’s claims of a “rigged election” are part of a calculated confrontation against the Georgian state.

He suggested that the president has lost her constitutional authority following her “anti-constitutional behaviour” and the ruling GD party has branded her a “so-called, pseudo president.”

The Georgian Dream party, led by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, has dismissed the opposition's accusations as baseless, describing any “irregularities” as typical for elections elsewhere in the world. Critics now accuse Zourabichvili of serving the interests of what they call the “Deep State.”

“The ‘Deep State’ is not the government in America or Europe. It refers to a coalition of powerful financial interests, major military corporations, and influential entities that seek to prevent Georgia from becoming an obstacle to their agendas. Their goal is to reduce Georgia to a vassal state,” explains Abashidze.

He adds, “The Georgian Dream party opposes the ‘Deep State’ agenda, asserting that under their leadership, Georgia will never return to the subjugation it experienced under [former President Mikheil] Saakashvili's rule.”

Saakashvili served as Georgia’s president from 2004 to 2013, implementing reforms but also facing criticism for authoritarianism. After his presidency, he moved to Ukraine, where he became governor of Odessa but faced corruption charges in Georgia. In 2021, he returned to Georgia, was arrested, and placed under house arrest, with his detention widely seen as politically motivated.

Read More
Read More

Georgia election crisis: What’s behind pro-Western, pro-Russian narrative?

Georgian Dream, which has been in office since 2012, has taken on foreign intervention in domestic affairs seriously. In May this year, it introduced legislation that requires NGOs receiving more than 20 percent of funding to register as foreign agents.

Many of these NGOs have been run by opposition politicians who promote Western narrative around the LGBTQ issues, the Ukraine war and Georgia’s EU membership. Analysts say that most of the common Georgians in the Orthodox Christian country of nearly 4 million people revolve around poverty and wages.

Abashidze explains that this stance of the Georgian Dream party has led President Zourabichvili and radical opposition politicians to target the Georgian Dream with a barrage of false narratives and accusations. “In effect, they are serving the interests of the ‘Deep State’, sometimes referred to as ‘Eurocrats’ or the ‘Global War Party’.”

Defying constitutional norms

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Georgia’s constitutional court rejected Zourabichvili’s lawsuit seeking to annul the results of the disputed parliamentary election. The ruling, issued last Friday but published on the court's website Tuesday, stated that Zourabichvili’s lawsuit would not be accepted for "substantive consideration."

"Her actions are absolutely unconstitutional," says Abashidze. "For example, on Monday, she called on school students, including minors, to join the opposition protests outside Parliament in Tbilisi—a move that is highly problematic. This kind of behaviour is not just unconstitutional, it is irresponsible and dangerous. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

Zourabichvili’s call for students to join protests against the government, and her claims of police officers being drugged, have drawn severe criticism from both political circles and the country’s Orthodox Church, which characterised the president’s statement as “unacceptable.”

“The President should strive to diffuse the current polarisation and animosity, rather than inciting young people,” the public relations service of the Georgian Orthodox Church said in a statement, noting that the ongoing events could adversely affect the mental and physical well-being of future generations, which is “of utmost concern.”

“Even the church patriarchate, which has always been a neutral player, has criticised Zourabichvili on her conduct,” says Abashidze. “It is unprecedented that the President, who is the supreme commander of this country, is attacking police officers. This is devastating and absurd,” he adds.

Read More
Read More

Georgia's top court rejects president's bid to overturn election results

Zourabichvili's presidency approaches breaking point

The clash between a defiant president—who has refused to step down at the end of her term—and the legitimately elected government is approaching a breaking point, with many fearing that the political crisis could escalate into a full-blown constitutional standoff.

With the Georgian Dream government pushing forward with plans for the December 14 presidential election, Zourabichvili’s position grows increasingly precarious.

For the first time in the country’s history, the president will be elected by a 300-member electoral college rather than through a direct popular vote—a change that has drawn criticism from opposition groups.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player and parliamentary deputy, has been nominated by Georgian Dream to be their candidate for the upcoming election.

"The Electoral College will elect a new president on December 14, with the inauguration set for December 29. This is when Zourabichvili’s term ends. We’ll have to see just how intense and widespread her confrontation with the government will become by then,” wonders Abashidze.

"It’s not just a confrontation with the government; it’s a confrontation with the people, because over a million people voted for the Georgian Dream."

Awaiting Trump’s return for policy shift

As Georgia navigates its current political turmoil, Abashidze says the Georgian Dream party remains hopeful that a shift in US foreign policy under a second Donald Trump administration could provide relief from what they view as external pressures.

The Georgian Dream party is adopting a patient stance, waiting for Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, he says, adding that the government is hopeful this change could bring an end to what they perceive as Western “blackmail.”

“What Georgian Dream is saying is no secret—they’ve made it clear. Prime Minister Kobakhidze and others have stated openly that the challenges Georgia faces will continue until January 20, when Trump is inaugurated,” he elucidates.

“After Trump takes office, the Georgian leadership believes that not only will US domestic policy shift, but foreign policy will also change. This includes a re-evaluation of US funding for NGOs [that have been fueling unrest] in Syria, Ukraine, and Georgia.”

Route 6