Tbilisi Mayor Kakhaber Kaladze has voiced strong criticism against foreign embassies, specifically targeting the US Embassy, accusing them of direct involvement in Georgia’s election campaign. Addressing the media, Kaladze pointed to recent Facebook banners posted by the US Embassy, alleging they contained misleading information.
“It’s very troubling to see embassies and foreign representatives actively engaged in the election campaign,” Kaladze stated. He claimed the banners in question spread falsehoods, particularly regarding inaccuracies in the parallel vote tabulation of election results.
Kaladze joked, “It seems the US Embassy’s Facebook page is being run by Levan Khabeishvili,” referencing a Georgian opposition figure, further accusing the embassy of deliberately spreading misinformation.
“Every banner contained lies, especially regarding alleged vote tampering during the parallel count. They mentioned 1.8%, but in reality, the figure was 2.5%, which we discovered ourselves—this accounts for approximately 50,000 votes. They falsely accused us of stealing 50,000 votes,” Kaladze explained.
He added that this was part of a broader campaign aimed at creating unrest and attempting to overthrow the government. Despite these accusations, Kaladze expressed confidence in Georgia’s resilience.
“No matter how much they involve themselves in the campaign or whatever they try to do, on October 26, our country will win—peace and development will win. No one will be allowed to harm Georgia’s sovereignty, statehood, or freedom, which are of utmost importance,” he asserted.
Kaladze emphasized that Georgia had fought for its independence to avoid becoming a vassal state. “We want friendship and partnership, but on equal terms, as befits developed nations. We won’t allow any country to treat us as a small state,” he concluded.
In response to a recent US Embassy banner stating, “Democracies don’t ban opposition,” Kaladze called it another example of misinformation. He pointed out that over 50 political parties have been banned in various countries, including Ukraine and Moldova, in the past 50 years.
“The double standards coming from the West recently are offensive to Georgia and the Georgian people. Nobody is foolish; we see everything clearly. We are an educated nation and fully capable of analyzing the situation,” Kaladze said, accusing Western allies of hypocrisy.
