Tbilisi City Court has supported the decision of Razhden Kuprashvili, head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, who unfairly labeled Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of Transparency Georgia, and the entire organization, as “figures with particular election goals, equal to political parties.” Further hearings to invalidate the decision are already scheduled.
Such a tag places TI Georgia in a distinctive election category, subjecting it to regulations such as the generation of an election fund and the prohibition of Western sponsors, despite the institution not participating in the elections.
TI Georgia has criticized the decision, emphasizing the loss of the possibility to oversee the elections through its coalition ‘My Voice.’
TI Georgia has been operating for 24 years, and the upcoming election will mark the first time it does not have any registered observers at voting centers. Despite these obstacles, the institution has reported that it continues advocating for Georgia’s European future.