Georgian Parliament Speaker claims EU Embassy again eyeing election interference through visa leverage

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday accused the European Union Embassy in Georgia of planning to interfere in the upcoming local self-government elections, alleging a violation of the Vienna Convention and Georgian law.

In a social media post, Papuashvili claimed that the Embassy’s latest public communication, paired with a recent letter from Brussels, signals political interference similar to what he says occurred during last year’s campaign.

“This post by the EU Embassy clarifies the intent behind Brussels’ letter, which was sent outside standard procedures and verbally assigned August as a deadline, even though communication between relevant agencies already exists for the annual visa condition fulfilment report, which is received in December, four months after August. As it appears, similar to last year, the EU Embassy plans to engage in the election campaign in violation of the Vienna Convention and Georgian legislation, attempting to influence voters’ will regarding the local elections through the issue of visas”, the Speaker said.

He further argued that these actions reflect a broader pattern of foreign interference aimed at undermining the democratic will of the Georgian people.

“We have long been saying that such large-scale interference and the desire to change the people’s choice at any cost is a deviation from European values. Every such statement is further confirmation of our truth. It is also noteworthy in this post that the Embassy did not display on its banners that Brussels demands the repeal of the family values and transparency laws”, Papuashvili concluded.