“Some of them only lack a leather coat and a Mauser, and they would gladly sign execution orders,” — this is how the Chairman of European Georgia, Gigi Tsereteli, responded to statements made by members of Georgian Dream accusing opposition politicians of spreading disinformation regarding the resolution adopted by the European People’s Party within the framework of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Additionally, Tsereteli answered another accusation from the ruling party during PalitraNews’ program Daily Newsroom, according to which opposition politicians “roam international organizations’ corridors and feed partners with disinformation.”

“A space consists of corridors and a hall. When people leave the hall, they enter the corridors… My impression is that some of them only lack a leather coat and a Mauser, and they would gladly sign execution orders. They have such rhetoric and such moods… It seems they themselves are upset that they don’t get to talk to anyone in those corridors,” — said Tsereteli.

Apart from this topic, he also discussed the changes included in the new draft version of the Election Code. Commenting on the planned restriction of voting rights abroad for emigrants, he said that the goal of Georgian Dream is to minimize the number of opposing votes as much as possible.

“The goal of every step we see from Georgian Dream is prolonging their power and using everything to do so — even things that are permissible and impermissible. Today, people should expect anything. As for the issue related to emigrants and the diaspora, this is clear and obvious. They need to secure as many [supportive] votes as possible and as few opposing ones as possible. In the last elections, the diaspora proved that their overwhelming majority — more than 85% — did not support them. Now imagine the pressure that would be exerted on those who voted for the government, aside from ideological supporters. Just like every lever is used here — intimidation, bribery — there are mechanisms abroad as well. For example, pressure on relatives living here. The number of Georgian Dream’s established and ideological supporters would have been even lower in the last elections than the 13–14%. They see that there is a source of votes that does not go into their piggy bank, and with this crude tactic they want to justify it — as if they are not depriving them of the right to vote, but instead offering the opportunity to come to Georgia to vote,” — Tsereteli said.

Regarding statements from representatives of Georgian Dream alleging that during the 2024 parliamentary elections the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, Michael Roth, participated in “mobilizing and pressuring” Georgian voters, Tsereteli stated that this was a completely fabricated issue.

“Germany is a democratic country, and these people, Papuashvili included, know Germany very well. There is no pressure on voters there. Even if Roth or Bismarck made a statement, it does not mean anyone is obliged to act on it. Every German politician has the right to express their opinion. What they don’t like is that partners in the country — for whom they have fought for years so that we have a European future and are not part of the Russian sphere — both Germans, Americans, and British have the right to voice their views. This is hyperbolized to the point where, supposedly, if someone in Germany said something, now the entire diaspora aligns with that. This is absolute nonsense and a lie. They claim emigrants have the right to come to Georgia to vote, but in practice that is impossible. I think many people know this very well. In this case, they see these people as ATMs — I apologize — as mechanisms from which money must flow into the country. The failures caused by this government’s policies — poverty and others — are compensated precisely by the extremely hard daily work of these people. They need this in order to reduce opposition votes to the minimum,” — said Gigi Tsereteli.