The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, has called on the anti-corruption bureau under his authority to "prevent external manipulation in the electoral process" and to review the decision that recognized the non-governmental organization "Transparency International - Georgia" as an entity with a declared electoral aim.
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Kobakhidze published a statement on social media, which followed the assessment by the monitoring mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the "deplorable decision" of the anti-corruption bureau undermines public confidence in the democratic electoral process.
"The fact that Transparency International - Georgia has a declared electoral goal and conducts an open election campaign against the ruling party, utilizing relevant financial and other material resources, is evident to any objective observer. Therefore, the decision of the anti-corruption bureau is legally grounded in the highest standard of infallibility and fully complies with the requirements of the Organic Law of Georgia On Political Unions of Citizens. Thus, it is not surprising that the validity of the anti-corruption bureau's decision was also confirmed by the court of first instance.
However, in the interest of state affairs and primarily to prevent external manipulation in the electoral process, the first signs of which have already emerged, I find it advisable to revoke the status of Transparency International - Georgia as an organization with a declared electoral goal.
Additionally, it is desirable that the same approach be extended to other entities recognized as organizations with declared electoral goals, despite the fact that only Transparency International - Georgia has declared disobedience to the decision of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The declared electoral goal of Transparency International - Georgia and its long-standing radical and polarizing political agenda have been known to Georgian society for a long time. Consequently, for society to draw appropriate conclusions, it is unnecessary for this organization to maintain any legal status," Irakli Kobakhidze stated in his announcement.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister noted that, alongside Transparency International - Georgia, other related organizations are also operating with declared electoral purposes and are registered as local observation organizations with the Central Election Commission.
"From a purely legal perspective, the status of an organization with a declared electoral goal from the Anti-Corruption Bureau could apply to nearly all financially capable organizations registered in the CEC as local monitoring organizations, which could be used even more actively for external manipulation.
In light of all the above, I urge the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Georgia to exercise legal discretion and reconsider its decision regarding the status of Transparency International - Georgia and other relevant entities as organizations with declared electoral goals," Kobakhidze stated.
Additionally, the Prime Minister calls on the Anti-Corruption Bureau to use legal discretion and refrain from reporting the status of an organization with declared electoral goals to other relevant entities before the parliamentary elections.
On September 24, the Anti-Corruption Bureau recognized Transparency International - Georgia and its executive director, Eka Gigauri, as "entities with a declared electoral aim," meaning that the regulations for political parties apply to them. At a briefing held on September 30, representatives of non-governmental organizations announced that, for the first time in 24 years, they would not be able to observe the parliamentary elections on behalf of the organization, although they would continue their individual efforts to protect votes.
