Georgian ruling party MP slams appeal by former officials, civil society groups on election legitimacy as "desperate"

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Human Rights Protection Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday criticised a joint appeal by former high-ranking Georgian officials, members of the judiciary and civil society groups for Western leaders not not recognise the legitimacy of the country’s October 26 general elections as “desperate” and “politically destructive”.

In his comments, the lawmaker described the vote as “competitive and fair” and stressed “ignor[ing] the truth can be very destructive to any actor”. 

The official further claimed those behind the appeal were “still reeling” from what he referred to as their “painful defeat” in the elections. 

We see how they are in political agony”, Ionatamishvili asserted, claiming the election results had “reflected the will of the Georgian people”. 

The joint appeal, published on Monday and signed by former state officials, members of the judiciary, and civil society organisations, had urged leaders from the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom to take action to “protect the expression of the Georgian people's will in the elections”. 

The signatories argued that recognising the election results would “signal the final failure of Georgia’s democratic development and pro-Western course”. 

Further responding to the signatories, the MP noted “now if they want, they can write letters. It seems that this is the fate of the [foreign] agent network”.