Speaking with journalists while in Baku, the Chief of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Narishkin, claims that the U.S. is meddling in Georgian parliamentary elections, pressuring the OSCE/ODIHR to publish a negative interim report on the upcoming elections. “The purpose of this action is to rudely and rather brazenly interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia, to try to prevent healthy, nationally oriented forces from coming to power again. But I am sure that the people of Georgia will make the right choice,” Narishkin said.
In the meantime, the written declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, signed by PACE members, indicates that the ruling party is preparing to rig the upcoming parliamentary elections. The declaration states: “There are alarming reports coming from Georgia which seem to indicate that the ruling party is preparing to steal the upcoming parliamentary elections.”
In connection with the PACE declaration, raising concerns over GD’s apparent intentions to rig the October elections, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze believes that the “Global War Party” very easily influences the 24 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the anti-LGBT bill into law on October 3 after President Salome Zurabishvili refused to sign it but did not veto it. Papuashvili wrote that while Georgian people pride themselves on tolerance, “tolerance means co-existence based on mutual respect, not living to spite the others and disturbing the public peace by ignoring others’ beliefs and values.”
The U.S. Embassy in Georgia said the U.S. has not imposed sanctions on the Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his family members after local media reports surfaced that Ivanishvili’s children abroad had their access to bank accounts blocked. “The United States has not imposed financial sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili or his immediate family members. The U.S. Department of Treasury makes all financial sanctions public,” the U.S. Embassy told Civil.ge.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that polling stations for Georgian emigrants will be opened in Israel despite the tense political situation and the possibility of military escalation there, while it refuses to open any polling stations in Ukraine due to the war. The Central Election Commission (CEC) recently reported that the October elections will be held outside Georgia in 42 countries in 60 electoral precincts.
According to the assessment of the Partner Organizations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) after a two-day visit to Tbilisi, the situation in the country has “clearly regressed” in terms of media freedom and democracy.
On October 1-2, Georgian wrestlers participated in the International Senior Freestyle Tournament “Khadartsev Brothers Cup” in Vladikavkaz, Russia. The tournament also featured the wrestlers from the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, as separate entities. According to the Russian Wrestling Federation, a total of eight athletes participated in the tournament on behalf of Georgia, three for Abkhazia, and three for South Ossetia/Tskhinvali region.