TI Georgia highlights country’s “lowest” Corruption Perceptions Index ranking since 2015

Transparency International Georgia on Tuesday said the latest edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International had ranked Georgia 49th with 53 points among 180 states, which it said was the “lowest” evaluation for the country since 2015. 

TI Georgia claimed while the nation maintained a leading position within its region, the current score marked a “worrisome trend” and suggested high-level corruption was “on the rise” in the country, with state institutions “increasingly susceptible to manipulation and capture by elite interests”. 

The organization also issued a set of recommendations aimed at bolstering anti-corruption efforts, which include ensuring the independence of the domestic Anti-Corruption Bureau, undertaking comprehensive judicial reforms, and fostering greater transparency and accountability in public institutions.

Mikheil Sarjveladze, a ruling Georgian Dream party MP, slammed the TI domestic branch and its chair Eka Gigauri for the assessment. 

“When the global evaluator declares that Georgia is successful and Gigauri and related officials say there is a dramatic situation in the direction of corruption, who should the voter trust?!”, the lawmaker said, and claimed “insinuations, speculative interpretations, attempts to find the key to distorted reality” was taking place in the country.