Georgian PM highlights ruling party’s “mandate to speak on behalf” of citizens

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said the ruling Georgian Dream party had a “mandate to speak on behalf” of the country’s citizens, in comments coming on the backdrop of ongoing protests and criticism against the reintroduced controversial bill on transparency of foreign influence.

Kobakhidze said the mandate had been granted by results of the 2020 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling party received 48 percent of votes.

“You all see that many people speak on behalf of the Georgian citizens, and these are essentially the people who are politically bankrupt and who do not enjoy public support”, he claimed.

For example, the radical opposition, whose approval rating has been drastically reduced, speaks on behalf of Georgian citizens, and NGOs speak on behalf of Georgian citizens, while these organisations have a record-low level of trust in the Georgian public”, the PM alleged.

“[President] Salome Zourabichvili speaks on behalf of Georgian citizens, while she is completely politically discredited in the eyes of the Georgian people”, he added.

“We have a mandate to speak on behalf of the people. [...] Moreover, since [the 2020 elections] our approval rating has increased and today exceeds 60 percent. In March, we had an approval rating of over 61 percent, and after the initiation of this law, I am sure that this rating will increase”, the Government head continued.

The PM further claimed the country’s citizens were “standing with the Government” and “support transparency”.

The bill calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, and its introduction has led to public protests and criticism from some of Georgia’s international partners.