President Zourabichvili: Moldovan elections showed what Georgia's diaspora could achieve

In the recent parliamentary elections in Georgia, the diaspora was unable to make a significant impact, unlike the Moldovan diaspora during their presidential elections.

This sentiment was expressed by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, as reported by Caliber.Az citing Georgian mass media.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zourabichvili stated, "The Moldovan elections are the best evidence of the stolen elections in Georgia: despite facing similar Russian interference and widespread rigging, Moldova was saved by 300,000 diaspora voters. Our 1,000,000-strong diaspora was barred from participating; only 34,000 were 'allowed' to vote."

Notably, Moldova’s diaspora played a key role in the presidential vote and in a nationwide referendum held on October 20, 2024, when a narrow majority of 50.35% voted to secure Moldova’s path toward EU membership. But the results of the ballots including Sunday’s vote were overshadowed by allegations of a major vote-buying scheme and voter intimidation.

Instead of winning the overwhelming support that Sandu had hoped, the results in both races exposed Moldova’s judiciary as unable to adequately protect the democratic process.

On November 3, 2024, with nearly 99% of votes counted in the second round of the presidential election, Sandu had 55% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission.

After all, the comments reflect ongoing concerns about the political engagement of Georgians abroad and the challenges they face in influencing the electoral process back home.

By Khagan Isayev