საინფორმაციო სააგენტო ინტერპრესნიუსი

We have seen the grant announced by Great Britain, which shows that although the US position has changed, there are still political groups that are trying to use money to influence elections in other countries, - said the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili.

He also spoke about suspicions related to corruption and stated that it is already known in advance to whom the money will be transferred, according to him, the population will see that the money will again be received by ISFED.

"For three years we have been saying that in fact, such projects are interfering in the country's elections. We have seen that the new administration of the United States of America has exposed this practice and stopped such funding precisely on the grounds that such funds were being directed to interfere in elections in other countries. Now we see that it is being replaced to some extent with other funds. We have seen the grant announced by Great Britain on this issue, which shows that although the position of the United States of America has changed, there are still political groups that are trying to use money to influence the elections of other countries. As for this specific issue, I personally suspect corruption. This has been announced as a competition. We are here and the entire population will see that this money will again be received by ISFED. In my opinion, it is already known in advance who this money should be transferred to. Otherwise, it will be confirmed whether the same organizations will be involved that have previously falsified election-related reports," said Shalva Papuashvili.

According to him, the process will be monitored and the population will see that this is also a “farce, as if some kind of competition is being announced and organizations will participate.

“We will have a situation where millionaire NGOs will receive this money, because it has already been determined in advance who will receive this money. Recently, we saw the statement of the British government, when they introduced certain restrictions on Georgian judges, justified it by the fight against corruption. In my opinion, this is an example that will prove that there are corrupt deals, when it is known in advance who will receive the money. Unfortunately, this practice is widely established in some donor organizations, when competitions are announced and in reality, it is just hypocrisy. You see that millions are accumulating in the pockets of five or six NGOs,” said Shalva Papuashvili.

For information, the UK has announced a grant competition in connection with the local elections planned for October 2025 in Georgia. In particular, the information released states that the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) is announcing a competition for Georgian non-profit organizations by April 25, 2025, to support the effective holding of the local elections in Georgia in October 2025.