Georgia’s presidential election: another test for the country’s EU relations ?

Georgia has recently experienced weeks of protests following parliamentary elections that secured a win for the ruling Georgian Dream party. In the aftermath, the party announced plans to suspend efforts to join the European Union.

On Saturday, the country faces presidential elections, a development that could further destabilise the nation of 3.7 million people and potentially accelerate the government’s distancing from the EU.

Although the presidency in Georgia is largely ceremonial, this election is significant as it marks the first time since the 2017 constitutional reforms that the president will be chosen by parliament rather than by popular vote. The current president, Salome Zourabichvili, represents the pro-EU opposition and has consistently criticised Georgian Dream for its increasingly authoritarian, anti-Western, and pro-Russian policies. Recently, Zourabichvili declared she does not recognise the results of the parliamentary elections and pledged to remain in office until new elections are held.

Georgian Dream has nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former soccer player with Eurosceptic views, as its presidential candidate.

To gain deeper insight into the stakes of Saturday’s election and the current situation in Georgia, Radio Schuman spoke with Nuka Kekelia, our Euronews correspondent in Tbilisi.

In the second segment of the podcast, we had a look at some details of a vote on human trafficking among EU ministers.

In the last part of the show, Radio Schuman brings you the new code of conduct of the upcoming Eurovision.

Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by David Brodheim and Georgios Leivaditis. Music by Alexandre Jas.

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