TI Georgia Chief: ‘Kleptocrats, oligarchs don’t conduct fair elections, never leave through vote’

Eka Gigauri, the director of Transparency International Georgia, on Thursday criticized the Georgian government, declaring that “kleptocrats and oligarchs do not conduct fair elections and do not go through elections”.

In a strongly worded social media post, she attributed Georgia’s “stalled integration process” with the European Union to governance concerns, claiming that European leaders had warned Georgian officials prior to the recent elections that “no one will accept this government in Europe”.

According to Gigauri, “the process of integration in Europe has frozen”, placing responsibility on the current government, which she asserted “lacks the legitimacy required for European acceptance”.

Her statement further reflected ongoing concerns from opposition and civic leaders regarding the integrity of Georgia’s democratic processes, particularly around the Saturday’s general elections which Gigauri described as “marred by voter intimidation and bribery”.

Gigauri underlined the importance of an international investigation of the vote, calling it essential for any potential recognition of the election results. She added, “the place of Russian oligarchs is in Russia, not in Europe”, reiterating her commitment to Georgia’s European trajectory.