Georgian Dream Speaker Slams UK Election Grant as Political Interference
Georgian Dream parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili said the UK government was trying to interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs through a new election-focused grant program. In a new accusation towards the West, Papuashvili, told reporters on April 6 claimed that the initiative by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) “serves exactly the same purpose as previous U.S. financial assistance,” which he alleged was used to “interfere in other countries, change governments and destabilize them.”
His comments followed the FCDO’s April 4 announcement of a grant competition for Georgian non-profit organizations ahead of the country’s October 2025 local elections. The program offers grants of up to £100,000 for projects supporting free and fair elections through voter education campaigns, increased participation among under-represented groups, and local and international election observation.
The British Embassy in Tbilisi, on whose site to grant announcement was placed said its goal is to support the delivery of Georgian elections “that are held to the highest possible standards, in which all sections of the Georgian population are able to express their opinions.”
Papuashvili said the grant is part of a broader effort to fill the gap left by discontinued U.S. funding, claiming that foreign donors are using European support to influence Georgia’s domestic politics.
“The new American administration has exposed this [foreign funding] harmful practice and stopped interference in the internal affairs of other countries,” Papuashvili said. “But when a vacuum is created, other forces always try to fill it and substitute American funding. What they used to do with the right hand of American funds, now they do with the left hand of British or other European funds.”
Papuashvili further alleged that the grant is “corrupt”, claiming the competition is rigged to favor certain non-governmental organizations.
“I strongly suspect this is a corrupt grant,” Papuashvili said. “Everyone already knows who will receive the money”, adding these will be the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) [a key Georgian not-for-profit carrying out citizen monitoring on elections] and “similar millionaire organizations.”
He further added: “This is hypocrisy and corruption when the result is already known in advance and it seems like some kind of open competitive contest is being announced. This way, they want to deceive both the Georgian and British public.”
Teona Akubardia, a leader of the Gakharia for Georgia party, said the ruling Georgian Dream party had another reason for opposing the grant. “This is not about the grant,” Akubardia said during an appearance on Palitra News’ “Daily Newsroom.” “This is about the regime’s fear of British sanctions,” she said, noting the UK has taken a leading role in sanctioning Georgian officials.
“Remember, the sanctions came from Britain first, then the U.S. followed. They fear these sanctions more than the American ones,” she added.
Papuashvili’s accusations come following the recent sanctioning by the UK of two senior Georgian judges — Mikheil Chinchaladze and Levan Murusidze — citing serious corruption, including alleged efforts to manipulate judicial appointments and rulings in favor of the Georgian Dream party.
Also Read:
- 07/04/2025 – GD Speaker Papuashvili Attends 150th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union in Uzbekistan
- 06/03/2025 – Irakli Kobakhidze: ISFED Works on Behalf of Forces that Don’t Have Good Intentions Toward Georgia
- 19/12/2024 – UK Sanctions Senior Georgian Authorities, Including Minister of Interior
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