On Tuesday 29 October, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell reiterated the EU institutions’ request to the Georgian authorities to investigate all the irregularities observed during last weekend’s controversial parliamentary elections, while the pro-EU political opposition protests the results that gave victory to the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ party (see EUROPE 13513/1).
“The Central Election Commission of Georgia and relevant authorities must investigate irregularities, pressure and intimidation on voters impacting public trust in the process, reported by observers. Those irregularities must be addressed swiftly, transparently and independently”, said Mr Borrell in a press release, describing developments on the ground as “very worrying“. He also noted that “international observers have not declared the elections to be free and fair”.
The Central Election Commission’s announcement, on the same day, of a partial recount of the votes was welcomed by European External Action Service spokesperson Nabila Massrali, who nevertheless pointed out that all irregularities had to be investigated. She has not confirmed any visit to Georgia by the High Representative at this stage.
Mr Borrell also announced that the EU Council’s ‘Political and Security Committee’ would meet on the same day. And he pointed out that the Foreign Affairs Council would assess the situation and reaffirm the EU’s position regarding Georgia on Monday 18 November.
The previous evening, thirteen EU countries joined forces to denounce “violations of electoral integrity“ during the Georgian parliamentary elections. These violations are “incompatible with the standards expected of a candidate to the European Union” and constitute “a betrayal of the Georgian people’s legitimate European aspiration”, they said.
They also deemed the visit to Tbilisi by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who “does not speak on behalf of the EU”, to be “premature”.
As a signatory to the declaration, Sweden indicated that it was suspending its governmental cooperation with Georgia.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/e2i
Speaking to the press on Tuesday alongside Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the Hungarian leader congratulated the ‘Georgian Dream’ party, which is pursuing “a pro-European policy” and peace, to ensure that Georgia does not become “a second Ukraine”. According to him, no international observer in the country “dared to question that this was a free and democratic election”.
Mr Orbán advised his Georgian counterpart “not to attach too much importance (...) to the debates” in Europe over Georgia’s election results. In Brussels, the dominant “political manual“ is: “’If liberal parties win, there is democracy. If conservatives win, there is no democracy’”, he quipped.
The Hungarian prime minister also spoke of the economic relations between his country and Georgia, including Wizzair’s flights to Tbilisi and an energy project aimed at “transporting ‘green’ electricity produced in the Caucasus to Europe” via a joint undertaking involving Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)