As many independent organisations and opposition parties alleged violations of the election rules, Canada has also announced to reassess its relationship with Georgia. Many other countries including the USA have issued statements in this regard.
Global Affairs Canada issued a statement in this regard. The statement called for an in-depth investigation into charge of poll rules violation by ruling party Georgian Dream.
The statement from Canada came yesterday at a time when the Prime Minister of Georgia refused the opposition parties’ allegations. Canada said it is time to investigate the incident of violation that has been unidentified by the international observers, who were appointed to extract the truth.
At the same time, the Canadian government urged Georgian authorities to respect the people’s right to peaceful protests. According to the Government, this right of peaceful protest is necessary for upholding human rights and democracy.
The statement specifically added, “Although we have friendly relations with the Republic of Georgia, we also support this strong bilateral relation with Georgia in the future. However, we are concerned about the reports of intimidation of voters.”
The statement further added that the charges of vote-buying are a grave matter of concern and it is a threat to democracy. Some of the reports by the irregularities were identified by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
Many other international observers have also underlined these violation. The statement also read that for a healthy democracy, the people of Georgia should be free from any internal or external influence in exercising the right to vote.
As per the statement, Canada in consultation with the countries of the G7 and other partners of the European Region, will assess its bilateral relations with the Republic of Georgia.
Moreove it also stated that the government of Canada will cooperate with Georgia as long as the Georgian government takes serious steps to protect the rights of common citizens. Notably, the President has also rejected the outcome. She said she would not recognize the election result.
