European funds vs Georgian ballot boxes Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

Organisations funded by the European Union are preparing to disrupt the upcoming local self-government elections, according to the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili.

He stated that NGOs attacking the Central Election Commission and the electoral process receive funding from the EU budget after the United States ceased its support in this area.

"Last year, ahead of the elections, we tried to show restraint — whether towards ambassadors or politicians. We saw where that led: the interference became even more blatant. Therefore, it must be said plainly — organisations funded by the EU Embassy are indeed preparing to sabotage the local self-government elections, and full responsibility for this will lie with the donors. In every such case, we will respond publicly and explicitly to the organisation and the donor, as this constitutes a violation of international law," the Speaker stressed.

He also assured that the Georgian authorities will not allow interference in the elections of a sovereign state — neither by organisations nor by foreign diplomats. "We will not allow foreigners to derail our elections," Papuashvili added.

Local elections in Georgia are scheduled for October. The opposition is divided: some parties plan to participate in the vote, while others are calling for a boycott. Against this backdrop, the ruling Georgian Dream party is confident in the success of its candidates.

But how might Georgian NGOs, allegedly backed by Western funding, attempt to disrupt the upcoming elections? What exactly could these funds be used for? And could such efforts yield any tangible results?

Prominent Georgian experts shared their views with Caliber.Az.

Analyst Irakli Lataria is convinced that the ruling Georgian Dream party will secure a decisive victory in all districts during the upcoming municipal elections, and that no foreign state will be able to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.

“The time when the European Parliament dictated what we should do is over. Today, the Georgian government enjoys even greater support than it did during last year’s parliamentary elections. That’s why any attempts at external interference will not benefit either the opposition or the NGOs affiliated with it,” Lataria stated.

Political scientist and founder of the SIKHA Foundation research centre, Archil Sikharulidze, expressed concern that certain disruptive NGOs may use Western funding to actively promote the idea of boycotting the elections among the public.

“They’ve already begun distributing flyers and other materials urging people to boycott businesses that support the government and to refrain from voting. At the very least, these NGOs could direct resources toward persuading segments of the population not to go to the polls in October.

Secondly, they might use the funds to create new information platforms aimed at discrediting the elections in advance and convincing citizens that the process is meaningless. This fosters negative public sentiment — not just toward the electoral process, but toward the government and the state itself.

Thirdly, these same resources can be used to promote the narrative that the elections do not reflect the will of the people, just like last year’s parliamentary elections,” the expert noted.

According to him, given that some European politicians — driven by geopolitical interests — refused to recognise the results of the 2024 parliamentary elections, a similar scenario could unfold around the upcoming vote.

“In this context, local NGOs, backed by their Western sponsors, may claim that these elections also fail to reflect the will of the Georgian people. That would mean, in their view, that all branches of government in the country become illegitimate.

This gives them a pretext to take aggressive — and in some cases extremist — actions under the guise of fighting for democracy, actions they will justify by claiming that ‘the West supports the Georgian people’s struggle against dictatorship,’” Sikharulidze concluded.