Georgian MP accuses “radicals” of “spreading disinformation”, preparing for “destabilisation” after October elections

Givi Mikanadze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Saturday accused the opposition “radicals” of preparing for “destabilisation” from October 27, the day after the upcoming parliamentary elections, claiming that the opponents were “spreading disinformation” and staging “obstructions” during the pre-election campaign.

Speaking for the press, Mikanadze blamed the UNM for “traditionally beginning the pre-election campaign with the use of hate speech”.

“On their election banners, to deceive voters and spread disinformation, they [the UNM] are identifying themselves with ‘prosperity in Europe’, while equating the GD party, under the rule of which tangible progress has been made towards the European Union integration, with ‘solely with poverty’”, the MP pointed out.

The Parliament official also cited some instances of the opposition members’ engagement in obstructive actions during the ongoing election campaign, such as the “destruction” of the ruling party's campaign materials, “altering and falsifying” texts of the campaign posters, and the distribution of “misleading” posters in the regions, associating the choice of the Georgian Dream with the “Russification of Georgia”.

He added that some non-governmental organisations were “taking on a more active role”, pointing out the political activities of My Voice to the EU, the alliance of up to 30 NGOs that includes Transparency International Georgia and Georgia's European Orbit, led by Eka Gigauri and Nino Lomjaria.

“For Georgian citizens, it is already impossible to see a dividing line between the destructive opposition and politically biassed non-governmental organisations”, Mikanadze said, while pointing to “numerous cases of violations of political neutrality” on the part of the alliance’s leaders as proof that their “main goal is to wage a propaganda campaign against the Georgian Dream among the public”.

The lawmaker also added that the lack of the opposition’s participation in the meetings of the Interagency Commission, set up regarding the pre-election campaign on July 15 and attended by representatives of international observer organisations and the ruling party, was “further indicating the fact that [opposition] radicals were not focused on the legal process” and that the elections were not “important” to them.