Hungarian FM claims “no international organisation” has described parliamentary elections in Georgia as “not democratic”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Tuesday claimed “no international organisation” had said that the parliamentary elections held in Georgia on Saturday were “not democratic”.

In his remarks, Szijjártó said the elections had been held in a “fair and free environment”, and further pointed out that “there is no cause for concern”.

No international organisation has said that these elections were not free, fair or democratic. Obviously, if the opposition had won, there would be no problem with democracy, but since the ruling party won, there are allegations about the elections. If the opposition had won this election, there would be no problems. We know this narrative well”, the Hungarian official claimed.

He further claimed that the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe had “not said” that the elections in Georgia were “not “fair, democratic, and free”.

Szijjártó further added that Hungarian observers had monitored the election process and presented a “very clear” report that “the elections were free, fair and competitive”.

He also reviewed Brussels' decision to freeze Georgia’s integration process due to the latter’s adoption of the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence earlier this year by saying that “it is a shameful decision, this is absolutely a political decision, because Brussels wants another Government in Georgia”.

Szijjártó also claimed that questioning the legitimacy of the elections and their outcome was “not only wrong, but humiliating for democracy”.