“Local election observers are turning a blind eye to the misuse of administrative resources due to their alignment with President Salome Zourabichvili and the radical opposition,” stated Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili during a briefing.

The Speaker accused the President of multiple violations.

“First and foremost, she disregards the Charter, which does not grant her the authority to engage in drafting pre-election programs. Yet, she has compiled an election program while simultaneously labelling Georgia as a ‘Banana Republic.’ She claims that Georgian citizens are incapable of electing a government that can govern the country for the next four years. According to her, a provisional government is necessary because she believes that the Georgian people lack the wisdom to make their own choices.

Madam Salome, after travelling to several European cities, returned with the assertion that Georgians lack the capacity to make informed decisions. She has drafted a multi-point Charter aimed at establishing a provisional government and calling for snap elections. This document suggests that Georgia should be governed by an administration dictated by external forces, obedient to the directives of foreign bureaucrats.

Second, Madam President is actively involved in forming party coalitions. She conducts consultations with political groups and utilizes the Presidential Palace along with administrative resources, including logistics. Local non-governmental organizations are willfully ignoring this because they are part of this conspiracy.

Third, Madam Salome announced the establishment of a coordination platform on Election Day. NGOs attempted to extricate her from this predicament, but their efforts were in vain. She explicitly stated that this platform would be created to monitor the election process on October 26 and to celebrate victory at the end of the day. This amounts to setting up a party headquarters within the administration, funded by our taxpayer money, for Madam President to rejoice over the outcomes—whether victory or defeat—of the parties she favours. This constitutes a blatant misuse of administrative resources in support of specific parties or groups, yet NGOs continue to turn a blind eye,” asserted Shalva Papuashvili.