Ruling Party MP denounces ISFED pre-election report as “baseless”, “promoting polarisation”

Givi Mikanadze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday rejected the recent pre-election monitoring report by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy by calling it "absurd and baseless” and accusing the organisation of “promoting polarisation” ahead of the October 26 parliamentary elections.

In a press briefing, Mikanadze criticised the report, presented on Wednesday, for “failing to address” what he described as an “ongoing campaign” by unspecified non-governmental organisations framing the forthcoming vote as a “choice between Europe and non-Europe”. The lawmaker argued the campaign, “aimed at polarising voters”, was ignored by the ISFED in its assessment.

The MP further dismissed the ISFED’s concerns about the ruling party’s planned move to declare the United National Movement opposition party unconstitutional for alleged crimes committed during the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, during its time in office, if it secured a constitutional majority of at least 113 seats in the October elections. 

He cited the Georgian constitution, which allows for banning of political parties that “seek to undermine the country’s territorial integrity or promote violence”.

The authors of the report should be reminded that many democratic governments worldwide have provisions for prohibiting political parties under certain conditions. In all countries, including Georgia, political parties can be banned if they meet specific, stringent criteria”, the MP stressed, adding about “150 cases of political party bans” were reported across 20 Council of Europe member states. 

Mikanadze also rejected claims that GD had not taken effective measures to investigate election-related violence and stressed the Ministry of Internal Affairs had initiated investigations into “all cases” mentioned in the report, with some individuals already recognised as victims.

Defending recent amendments to the electoral law, which lowered the qualified majority needed for decision-making by the Central Election Commission, the MP argued the changes were necessary to “prevent opposition parties from stalling the election process”. 

He criticised the ISFED for “ignoring” that the amendments were supported by both politically appointed and nonpartisan members of the CEC.

Mikanadze also took issue with the ISFED's criticism of state programmes and projects, such as a “symbolic presentation” of rings to newlyweds during the Beshumoba Festival in August in the country’s western Adjara region, which the NGO had described as electoral bribery. He called such claims "out of touch with reality”. 

From their [ISFED] perspective, the Government should refrain from taking any action or initiating important processes during an election year. However, the Government’s correct and pragmatic policies have led to significant economic growth, resulting in a ₾500 million ($183 mln) increase in state budget revenues. As in previous years, additional funds have been allocated to various sectors and local governments”, Mikanadze claimed. 

The MP further accused the ISFED of “selectively focusing” on alleged violations by the ruling party while “ignoring” actions by opposition groups. He pointed to pre-election campaigning organised by “foreign-funded NGOs”, as well as alleged public threats and bullying directed at ruling party members, as examples of issues allegedly overlooked in the report.

Mikanadze urged international partners to “reassess” the ISFED’s role, claiming the organisation had “abandoned its neutrality” and was “actively working to discredit” the current Georgian Government.