Georgia’s ruling party official: UK foreign funding rules reflect “unfair attitude” toward Georgia

Irakli Kirtskhalia, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Monday commented on the United Kingdom’s decision to tighten rules on foreign political funding, arguing that while transparency measures are considered acceptable for other countries, similar standards are portrayed differently when applied to Georgia.

In his remarks, Kirtskhalia noted that recent developments show “an unjust approach” toward Georgia from certain international partners.

“In recent periods, unfortunately, the UK has become something of a flagship in this regard, along with its Government and diplomatic mission in Georgia. When we talk about double standards, every country, including the UK, is of course developing legislation to respond to current challenges. For them, everything can be transparent, while for us it supposedly cannot. For them, various laws they themselves criticise us for are important for national security, while our country is supposedly said not to face security challenges. This is a dirty attitude toward us, which we clearly see, and we have very clear responses to it”, he said.

The United Kingdom has recently tightened its rules on foreign political donations, aiming to prevent foreign financial influence in electoral processes.

Under the new regulations, political candidates are required to declare donations exceeding £2,230 received prior to candidacy and to demonstrate that any pre-election funding comes from legitimate sources.