The Anti-Corruption Bureau removed the status of “political actor with declared electoral objectives” from Transparency International-Georgia, a watchdog and key election observer, one day after the Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze requested it.
“Taking into account the interests of the country, I consider it necessary to use my discretion and cancel all decisions regarding TI-Georgia and [its director] Eka Gigauri, according to which the organization and Eka Gigauri were obliged to make transparent the funds spent in political processes and to inform society about it,” said Razhden Kuprashvili, the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau at the special briefing on October 2.
The move came after PM Irakli Kobakhidze urged the Bureau to reverse its earlier decision to declare TI-Georgia a “political actor” for its voter mobilization efforts. Kobakhidze maintained the decision of the Bureau was “legally completely correct” and “justified” however, citing the interest of the state and the need to avoid external interference in the electoral process “by foreign actors”, “the first signs of which have already appeared,” he said he believes it would be correct to withdraw this status from TI-Georgia.
His request came a day after TI-Georgia announced that it would no longer be able to monitor the elections because of the label it had received from the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
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The Anti-Corruption Bureau thus followed the Prime Minister’s instructions, but like him, it slammed the watchdog, accusing it of being “non-transparent.”
“It is sad that the organization whose name is associated with transparency turned out to be the first that refused to be transparent and instead chose to attack the principle of the rule of law,” Kuprashvili said, adding, “This organization, just like another non-governmental organization, does not want to reveal to society for what purpose tens of millions of laris are being spent, while they themselves are trying to be above the law.”
He also said that if TI-Georgia had disclosed its financial statements, “it would have become clear to society how the whole set of processes for forming public opinion was managed.” He added: “In the case of transparency, it would be clear what financial interests are behind the statements made in the international arena, including about the suspension of visa liberalization for the country.”
The head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau used the briefing to attack civil society as a whole: “Their activities are hidden and not transparent. They act in silence and not with pride,” Kuprashvili said of the watchdogs, adding, “Their expenses are not disclosed, which threatens the right of citizens to make informed decisions.
Razhden Kuprashvili claimed that his office, which is widely seen as lacking independence from government influence, serves transparency, the rule of law and the right of citizens to make informed decisions. He also claimed that the office’s decisions are justified by “the highest standards” and are based on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.
Although the Foreign Agents Law has not yet been used in practice by the authorities, it appears that the Anti-Corruption Bureau has instead emerged as a tool in the hands of the government to curb civil society. In addition to TI-Georgia, the Bureau has previously declared the Vote for Europe movement a “political actor with declared electoral objectives”.
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