On October 9, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “On democratic backsliding and threats to political pluralism in Georgia” with 495 votes in favor, 73 against, and 86 abstentions. Among others, the resolution calls for a freeze of EU funds to the Georgian government until it repeals the anti-democratic legislation, for sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, and for an assessment of Georgia’s fulfillment of visa liberalization benchmarks. It also calls for “strict conditions to be placed on the disbursement of any future funding to the Georgian Government.”
While Speaker Shalva Papuashvili slammed the European Parliament’s resolution before its adoption, calling it “outrageous,” “shameful” and “disgusting,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze denounced the resolution after its passing, describing it as inspired by the Global War Party. “The unfair spirit of this resolution is undeniable… Of course, an unfair document has no value to us and will be as ineffective as the previous three resolutions,” said PM Kobakhidze.
EU Foreign and Security Policy Lead Spokesperson Peter Stano called on Georgian leaders to “avoid any form of harsh rhetoric and disinformation” against the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczyński, in response to Formula TV‘s question. Recently, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili deemed the EU Ambassador’s comments on the ruling party’s campaign banners as evidence of “interference in the electoral process” and called them “hypocritical.”
On October 9, the Constitutional Court announced its decision to accept for substantive consideration parts of the appeals against the Foreign Agents Law, but not to grant the petitioners’ request to suspend the validity of the disputed norms pending the final decision on the case. The Court found that the applicants hadn’t provided sufficient evidence that the organizations, which will have to continue their work as ‘foreign agents’, will suffer substantial reputational damage for the law to be suspended before the Court makes a final ruling.
The Communications Commission upheld the complaint filed by the Georgian Dream and recognized the opposition-leaning Mtavari TV, TV Pirveli, and Formula TV as violators of the Electoral Code of Georgia, issuing them with a protocol of administrative violations. The matter relates to the complaint received by ComCom that these channels did not broadcast GD’s political advertisements, displaying the devastation brought by Russia’s war in Ukraine on one side and similar locations in “peaceful” Georgia on the other. The slogan is “Say no to war – Choose peace.”
Georgian watchdogs are calling on the Special Investigation Service (SIS), which is tasked by law with investigating violent crimes committed by public officials, to make public information about its investigation of cases related to the crackdown on anti-foreign agent rallies in April and May 2024. The statement says that despite the calls by CSOs and by the Public Defender for the SIS to investigate the mentioned cases, as of October 9, 2024, neither the SIS nor the Prosecutor’s Office had reported the identification or indictment of potential perpetrators involved in these cases.
A survey conducted by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) assessed the impact of the Foreign Agents Law on the country’s civil society sector, indicating that the consequences of the law have already impacted 70% of surveyed CSOs in various ways.This impact, the survey found, was reflected in organizations and their staff being subjected to online threats and harassment, increased scrutiny by authorities, greater administrative burdens, negative media reports, the display of posters, and phone calls directed at them or their relatives.