On October 31, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili held a briefing on the European Commission’s recent enlargement report and allegations of election fraud in Georgia.
On EC Enlargement Report
Regarding the EC Enlargement Report, the Speaker claimed that Georgia is “progressing on the path of EU integration.” He noted that the ruling party “evaluates the report positively,” adding that according to the EC, Georgia has shown “good progress” in 12 chapters and “some progress” in 13 chapters, despite the fact that Georgia is in a parliamentary election year and “under constant obstruction by the opposition and NGOs.”
He noted that of the 35 chapters of the report, Georgia had regressed in only one – the chapter on “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” – due to the abolition of gender quotas, the adoption of the law on foreign influence, the adoption of the Law on family values and the protection of minors, and “not holding an LGBTQ+ pride”. Papuashvili added that despite this, Georgia’s progress is assessed similarly to Ukraine and Moldova, and in the “fundamental issues” groups Georgia “even leads among the countries.”
The Speaker noted that the fact that there is a disagreement between Georgia and the EU on the above-mentioned laws is not new and claimed that Georgian society “has shown its position on the laws” through the election results. “We will continue to discuss these issues with the European Union, taking into account the position of Georgian citizens,” he noted.
Papuashvili added that Georgia also leads in issues related to the internal market and competitiveness, “which is the main essence of the EU as an organization.” “Thus, taking into account the overall assessment, Georgia is still solidly ahead of Moldova, and behind Ukraine only in three groups – foreign relations, green agenda and resources,” he maintained.
Papuashvili also noted that these 35 chapters “are Georgia’s European path” on which the country is progressing. He accused “some EU representatives” of politicizing this process, noting that “everyone should understand that such a short-sighted approach turns European integration from a tool of cooperation into a political tool, which unfortunately, in the end, damages the European integration process itself and the reputation of the European Union”.
Papuashvili emphasized that “recently popularized terms” such as “halting EU integration” or “freezing” the process are “only political statements” and that the fact that the EC worked on Georgia’s enlargement report and gave a recommendation is proof in itself that EU integration has not been stopped and “cannot be stopped”.
On Elections
Turning to the allegations of election fraud, he said that although the EU representatives had previously promised to take the OSCE/ODIHR report into account when assessing the elections, they were now going back on their promise. He alleged that the observation mission had given a positive assessment of the elections and had only mentioned a few irregularities, on which, he claimed included an assessment of the President’s involvement in the process as a “use of administrative resources.” [The IEOM assessment did not, in fact mention use of the administrative resources by the President, mentioning however that “The president took an active role in the campaign by publicly consulting the opposition about pre-electoral coalitions and the composition of a prospective government, potentially acting outside of her mandate as a neutral arbitrator between the state institutions.”]
Papuashvili said that GD representatives had talked with OSCE/ODIHR observers and that the violations they had mentioned were: the installation of cameras in precincts, mobilization of voters with the help of coordinators, and involvement of mayors in the campaign process. However, he noted that GD representatives explained that these issues “don’t violate the Georgian Constitution”, and have always been and will always be a part of elections in Georgia.
Noting that President Salome Zurabiashvili is the one who claims that there were many violations during the elections, he said that “she refuses to provide any evidence and added that “even the press speaker of the U.S. State Department had to emphasize that if she accuses something, she has to provide evidence”.
A day earlier, the U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated during a
briefing that the U.S. expects a transparent investigation by Georgian authorities into the allegations of election fraud. Regarding the President’s involvement in this process, he stated: “I’ll let the president speak for herself, but my understanding is she has said that she has information about irregularities, so hopefully she can provide that information that would be relevant to any investigation, whether it’s conducted by Georgian authorities or anyone else.”
Papuashvili said, in an ironic tone, that after five days of “unsuccessful attempts” to find proof of any of the allegations, the opposition and NGOs “discovered” that the marking on the ballots appeared on the back. He noted that the ballots were wrapped in an envelope that hid the marking, that all interested parties were aware of this and didn’t seem to have any complaints, and that even thinner paper had been used in other elections where electronic technology was used and no one saw a problem.
“Therefore, I once again call upon everyone to recognize the conclusion of the OSCE/ODIR, they cannot run away from this conclusion and they cannot run away from the 1,120,000 voters who loudly and clearly supported not only the “Georgian Dream” but also the policies implemented by the “Georgian Dream” and its future plans. So, this is democracy and everyone should come to terms with this and recognize democracy,” concluded Papuashvili.
Also Read:
