US embassy inciting coup by backing ISFED NGO – former MPs of ruling party

Four former MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which left the GD in June in an attempt to “tell the public the truth” have accused the US Embassy in Georgia of “backing the forces which are interested in the overthrowing” of the Georgian Dream Government. 

In their statement on Monday, the MPs Sozar Subari, Dimitri Khundadze, Mikheil Kavelashvili and Guram Macharashvili, claimed that the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy NGO, which was banned from the participation in the parliamentary working group on electoral issues for Georgia’s  EU candidacy, was “directly involved in the revolutionary scenario, the implementation of which is coordinated by the American Embassy”. 

The MPs said that ISFED’s “anti-Governmental” sentiments “are clear” and that the NGOs “wrong data” of the parallel vote count in the 2020 elections pushed the opposition to take to the street. 

The GD  said last week that only “neutral” NGOs could be present in the working group which was earlier set up to address electoral issues per the European Commission recommendations, as Georgia has several months to meet 12 conditions for EU candidacy. 

In its statement on Friday, the US Embassy said that the exclusion of ISFED,” one of Georgia’s most trusted and experienced election observation organizations”, from the Parliamentary working group on election reforms “directly contradicts the European Commission’s recommendation” that Georgia “ensure the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes at all levels”.

“ISFED was selected by its peer organizations to represent civil society at the working group because of its expertise, professionalism, and long experience with election reform. Civil society organizations serve as the voice of the people on a range of issues and play a vital role in ensuring that citizens’ needs, priorities, and preferences are addressed. ISFED’S exclusion raises questions about the sincerity of Parliament’s electoral reform process”, said the Embassy. 

The opposition said that the former MPs of the ruling party “are voicing the anti-Western rhetoric of the founder of the GD Bidzina Ivanishvili and the current state authorities”.