Ahead of parliamentary elections in Georgia on 26 October, European Greens called on Georgians to make their voices heard.
“All eyes are on Georgia’s election. The Georgian government has become increasingly authoritarian and a friend of Putin. The election will shape the country’s future, it's the Georgian’s election of a lifetime," said Thomas Waitz, co-chair of the European Green Party (EGP).
In power for 12 years, the government led by the “Georgian Dream” party, founded by billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has adopted tactics similar to those of the Kremlin, including the promotion of conspiracy theories, and the marginalisation of minority groups, particularly the LGBTI community. The ruling party also introduced a law to eliminate taxes and duties on offshore assets, to allow Ivanishvili and his friends to safeguard their wealth from potential Western sanctions.
The Georgian government has ignored mass protests by tens of thousands of Georgians in 2023 and 2024, and pushed through a highly unpopular, so-called “Foreign Agents Law” to silence critical voices in civil society and independent media.
Co-chair Mélanie Vogel of the European Green Party added: "Georgian Dream have demonised civil society and LGBTI people. We reiterate our call for the repeal of the Foreign Agents Law and the anti-LGBT bill. We call for the European Union to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili and his associates in case of election irregularities. But if Georgian people vote for closer connections with Europe, the European Union should help them to move rapidly towards deeper European integration".
