Independent MP on election watchdog: if they want to be “revolutionary and follow Lenin’s path” they should name themselves accordingly
In his comments over the matter, Subari evoked the situation following the 2020 Parliamentary elections, when the election watchdog had found itself embroiled in scandal after admitting to making a mistake in their parallel vote tabulation. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
Tweet 
Share
Sozar Subari, a member of Popular Force, a recently launched public movement composed of the former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Monday criticised the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian-based election watchdog, by saying “if they want to be revolutionary and follow Lenin’s path, they should name themselves as a revolutionary party”.
In his comments over the matter, Subari evoked the situation following the 2020 Parliamentary elections, when the election watchdog had found itself embroiled in scandal after admitting to making a mistake in their parallel vote tabulation.
Following the elections and before the organisation admitted to the error, all eight opposition parties that won seats had rejected the vote as “rigged”, citing irregularities raised by ISFED and other watchdogs among the evidence.
“Of course, this is no longer a non-governmental organisation, much less a reliable non-governmental organisation. It is an ordinary revolutionary organisation with its own goals”, Subari said.
If they want to be revolutionary and follow Lenin’s path, they should name themselves as a revolutionary party. If they want to be a non-governmental organisation, then they should acknowledge all the crimes they have committed. Rigging is a crime”, he added in reference to the election incident.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said ISFED should “distance itself” from “improperly made” demands that “are not suitable for an NGO”.
Popular Force on Monday released a statement saying by standing up for ISFED against its exclusion from the Parliamentary work on European Union membership status for Georgia - justified by ruling party officials due to the organisation’s participation in opposition protests - the United States Embassy was backing a return to power of the opposition United National Movement party through “revolution” and opening of a “second front” of the ongoing Ukraine war in Georgia.
The comment followed a statement by the Embassy that said “the exclusion of ISFED, one of Georgia’s most trusted and experienced election observation organisations, from the Parliamentary working group on election reforms directly contradicts the European Commission’s recommendation that Georgia ensure the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes at all levels”.