“Shalva Papuashvili’s statement continues the hostile rhetoric that the Georgian Dream has been implementing against non-governmental organisations and critical media for several months,” Nona Kurdovanidze, head of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), responded to a Facebook post by the Georgian Parliament Speaker.

Papuashvili wrote a post on social media noting: “Calling the parliament elected by the people ‘illegitimate,’ along with disinformation, is a rejection of democratic institutions. The purpose of not recognising democracy is to create an ideological base and apparent legitimacy for extremism.”

“The legitimacy of parliament is a legal, not political, issue. Our assessment of illegitimacy is based on election monitoring and legal violations observed during the election process and the first session of parliament, which was held unlawfully.

These findings are not only echoed by local watchdogs but are also confirmed by international observation missions, including violations of ballot secrecy and other irregularities before and during election day,” Kurdovanidze stated.

She added that Papuashvili’s statement reflects the ongoing campaign by the ruling party against civil society and free media.

“The law currently being challenged in the Constitutional Court is another step in this repressive trend, and such statements are part of the same agenda,” Kurdovanidze said.