Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen vows maximum limits on external interference in domestic politics

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the Georgian Government would take all necessary measures to prevent external interference in the country’s internal political processes.

Kaladze commented on reports about non-governmental and media organisations registered at fake addresses, stressing that foreign attempts to influence Georgian politics were unacceptable and would be firmly restricted.

“They are no longer hiding anything - they openly say that they are looking for loopholes to bring money into Georgia in various forms and ways to finance politics. This is unimaginable. No normal, developed country would allow this to its citizens and would make appropriate decisions. We, of course, will do everything to ensure that external interference is limited as much as possible. No one has the right to interfere in a country’s internal political affairs, to give instructions from abroad, or for money to be directly spent on Georgian politics”, he said.

The official noted that NGOs could continue operating normally, provided they comply with the law and ensure full transparency regarding their registration, funding sources, and expenditures.

“Non-governmental organisations can function normally. There is a law - they must register, and everything must be transparent. It’s very simple: they should register properly, and every citizen of Georgia should know where a specific NGO receives its funding from and on which specific projects it spends that money. Forget the time when some people were bringing money into the country under the pretence of doing good deeds, while sometimes financing television stations, sometimes political activities, attempts at coups, and several attempts to organise revolutions. That’s over - it cannot continue like this”, he noted.

Kaladze further condemned non-transparent funding used against religion, the Church, or to sow social division and confrontation, labelling violators of sovereignty as enemies of the country.

“The state will do everything to protect the country’s sovereignty and independence and will not allow anyone to crudely interfere from abroad and organise coups. For me, for my teammates, and for the majority of the population, anyone who violates the country’s sovereignty is an enemy of my country. It is absolutely unacceptable that funds come from abroad and are spent, for example, against religion or the Church, or on Georgian politics - non-transparent funds supposedly for beneficial projects, which in reality led to several attempts at coups, social division, and confrontation”, he said.

“Give me a single example of a normal European state where financing internal politics from abroad is allowed. There is no such example. Not a single normal state that cares about its sovereignty would allow anyone to interfere in its internal political affairs”, Kaladze concluded.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday intensified his criticism of foreign-funded non-governmental organisations, comparing their Estonian-registered offices to the flimsy shelters found in the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Papuashvili presented what he described as photo evidence and registration documents showing that several Georgian non-governmental and media organisations were registered at the same address in Estonia, with the address corresponding to a dilapidated, partially ruined building located next to a railway line, which he said raises questions about the credibility of the organisations allegedly registered there.