“Organisations funded by the European Union Embassy are preparing to disrupt local government elections,” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told journalists.

According to Shalva Papuashvili, EU budget money is being spent to undermine elections.

“After this false, fabricated campaign, which was conducted, including by EU-funded organisations, we heard the OSCE Secretary General’s statement that the October 26 election results reflect the will of the voters. This is a response to all those country governments that insulted the Georgian people; this is a response to Brussels bureaucrats who insulted the Georgian people. This is a response to some ambassadors operating in Georgia, who insulted the Georgian people by showing a cold attitude toward the government chosen by them, as if these elections were fraudulent.

After the OSCE Secretary General stated that the people’s will is fully reflected in these election results, I believe that these governments—Brussels and certain ambassadors—should apologise to the Georgian people. They should do so for accusing us, as if Georgian democracy is incapable of allowing the Georgian people to choose their own government. This statement also pertains to the campaign conducted by certain NGOs, specifically Nino Lomjaria’s organisation, My Vote. As you may recall, even before the 2024 elections, there were proceedings against them—along with several other NGOs—regarding their designation as election-related entities. We were saying then that the EU Embassy was financing an agitation campaign, including this My Vote organisation, which united several NGOs and was directly involved in agitation against Georgian Dream,” Shalva Papuashvili declared.

According to the Parliament Speaker, those NGOs that attack the CEC and elections are funded by the EU budget.

“Who complains about NGO agitation when the EU Ambassador himself was involved in agitation against Georgian Dream, has violated the Vienna Convention, as well as human and diplomatic ethics by trying to influence another country’s population based on electoral results. We see the same thing now and this is the first signal. From here on, we must be very vocal and strict in evaluating those NGOs that attack the CEC and elections. These organisations are funded from the EU budget. After we see that U.S. funding in this sphere no longer exists. We are not always aware of the exact sources of support for some organisations, including this one, but we have a general idea. With the EU Ambassador’s approval, funding is being allocated to organisations that have already begun to interfere with local government elections. EU funds are being used in ways that undermine the integrity of Georgia’s local elections. This is a fact.

Since last year, we have been working to uphold the reputation of certain ambassadors and politicians in the lead-up to the elections. But unfortunately, these efforts have not produced the desired results. Instead, we have seen even more blatant interference in our electoral process. Therefore, it must be stated that organisations funded by the EU Embassy are preparing to disrupt the upcoming local government elections. As a result, full responsibility will rest with the donors. In every case, we will be vocal and directly expose both the organisations involved and their donors, as such actions constitute a violation of international law.

Our task is also not to let the European Union violate international law. It is also the wish of our people to preserve the reputation of the European Union, which has been so severely tarnished by Brussels bureaucracy. We will not allow Brussels officials or certain donors to undermine the EU’s standing or to tarnish the very European values they often speak of in words but violate in deeds. We are committed to safeguarding the integrity and dignity of the European Union and its core principles.

So, the CEC’s statement is welcome and we too will have a vocal response to every such case. We will not allow anyone to interfere in the elections of a sovereign state, regardless of their identity—be it an organisation, an ambassador from any country, or any other entity. We will expose everyone in such attempts. We will definitely not allow foreigners to disrupt our elections,” Shalva Papuashvili declared.