Georgian PM accuses certain NGOs of anti-constitutional, anti-state acts

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday accused certain domestic NGOs of attempting to orchestrate revolutionary processes in the country with foreign funding, describing such actions as unconstitutional and anti-state.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that while he was not involved in the specifics of ongoing investigations, the role of NGOs in pushing for Government resignation and self-involvement in forming new Government had been widely observed, citing Eka Gigauri from NGO Transparency International Georgia as an example.

“For example, I recall Gigauri herself, from Transparency International, who took the stage in June 2022, when the EU unjustly denied us the [EU membership] candidate status, and how they demanded not only the Government’s resignation but also the formation of a new Government with their own involvement, which is absolutely not the business of NGOs”, Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister framed these NGO activities as attempts to influence governance unlawfully, emphasising that such conduct falls outside the legitimate role of civil society organisations.

“In other words, they attempted to orchestrate revolutionary processes with foreign funding, which is an absolutely unconstitutional phenomenon, an anti-state phenomenon, and law enforcement agencies will address the rest”, he concluded.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday warned that certain domestic opposition parties and foreign-funded NGOs were stepping outside democratic frameworks and pursuing a violent overthrow of the Government, describing it as a path “that leads directly to Maidan”.