Georgian ruling party vows to “inform” public about risks of election interference amid US warning

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the country’s authorities were “ready to inform everyone” about risks of interference in domestic elections “if such threats are observed”, following a warning by the United States for more than 100 states across the world over Russia’s alleged plans to “undermine confidence” in democratic process and fair elections. 

In his press comments ahead of the next year’s Parliamentary Elections in Georgia, the party official also stressed “no country should interfere in our elections, [and] this is a call to absolutely all countries”. 

He also pointed to the publication of a “fake” parallel vote count data by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a domestic election watchdog backed by the US Agency for International Development, after the 2020 Parliamentary Elections.

In his previous comments, Kobakhidze had claimed the ISFED’s “fake data” had become “one of the main pillars of the domestic radical opposition” in the latter’s questioning of the legitimacy of the race.

Everyone should pay attention to how elections are conducted in other countries, but under no circumstances should anyone interfere in them. If there are risks of interference anywhere [in the elections], we will, of course, inform everyone about everything. This is in our interests", Kobakhidze said in his latest comments. 

In its warning, the US intelligence on Friday claimed the Kremlin was expected to use spies, social media and Russian state-run media to “erode public faith in the integrity of democratic elections worldwide”.