DISINFO: US Embassy in Tbilisi set rules for Georgian election
SUMMARY
Take, for example, the last parliamentary elections in Georgia. The election was held in accordance with the rules set out at the US Embassy in Tbilisi.
RESPONSE
A conspiracy theory in this op-ed for Spuntik Azeri about the recent Parliamentary elections in Georgia claiming that they were held in accordance with the rules set out at the US Embassy in Tbilisi. ODIHR’s Limited Election Observation Mission in their statement of preliminary findings and conclusions stated that, “The elections were conducted under a substantially revised legal framework that provided a sound basis for holding democratic elections”.
A similar election watch report was issued by The National Democratic Institute. (NDI) The report notes that, “The 31 October parliamentary elections were competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected”.
Furthermore, the US supports a free and fair electoral process in Georgia as can be seen from the statement from the the US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan on 31st October 2020.
“The freedom to choose your leaders through fair elections is absolutely fundamental to a true democracy. The United States is actively supporting these elections and really wants the elections to go smoothly. But ultimately, the success of Georgia’s election is up to the Georgian government and the Georgian people. It is vital that Georgian citizens make their voices heard by voting.” Later she added that “It is up to the Georgian people to decide who they want to govern their country. The United States does not have a favorite candidate, or a favorite party. We will work with any party that is legitimately elected by the Georgian people. We are focused on a fair process, not the outcome.”
The President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), Attila Mesterhazy also issued statement on the recent political and electoral developments in Georgia following the first round of the parliamentary elections in Georgia held on 31 October: “International observers, including the NATO PA delegation, assessed the first round of the Georgian parliamentary elections as competitive. They also noted that, overall, fundamental freedoms had been respected during the campaign and on election day. All of these reports also touched on some critical points about the elections in Georgia, but each of them was related to the electoral system and process, and did not contain any objections to the interference of any foreign country in the election process.
The joint statement of the four opposition parties, which lost the election according to the official results, also did not mention any foreign interference in the elections, despite criticising the election process and declaring that the results were not recognised by those parties.
Thus, neither the reports of foreign observers on the parliamentary elections, nor the statements of the losing parties contain any claims or evidence that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were held in accordance with the rules set out at the US Embassy in Tbilisi.
See more disinformation alleging US interference in the election in Georgia: The Georgian Election Results are written in the US.