Georgian Parliament official says opposition preparing for “delegitimisation” of elections

Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Thursday alleged the opposition was preparing “not for the upcoming October 26 parliamentary elections but for  a delegitimisation of the process”.

Even today, if we observe, they are preparing not to secure results in the elections but to delegitimise the [already] lost elections and declare that elections have not taken place under fair conditions”, Kadagishvili claimed.

Speaking for the press, the Government official also accused some non-governmental organisations of being “directly involved in the falsification” and “direct drivers of political processes”. 

We see their statements where they have already begun the campaign to discredit the elections. Therefore, it is, of course, the policy they are pursuing consistently. We have seen all their training, where they were specifically priming young people for a revolution”, Kadagishvili added.

The official’s comments came in the wake of ruling party members criticising a recent pre-election monitoring report by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, calling it "absurd and baseless” and accusing the organisation of “promoting polarisation” ahead of the elections.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also claimed earlier this week that the “radical opposition” had “no hope” of winning the elections and was “actively discussing a scenario” to “artificially create unrest” in the country instead.