British Embassy Cancels Planned Grants Citing “Uncertainty” Over New Law
The British Embassy has canceled planned grants aimed at supporting transparency and competitiveness in Georgia’s upcoming local elections, citing procedural “uncertainty” stemming from a recently amended law requiring foreign donors to obtain government approval before disbursing grants to local groups.
The Embassy said it sought approval for “several” grants to Georgian civil society for “voter education and citizen electoral monitoring,” noting that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had recognized these as “valuable activities.”
But after discussion with the authorities, “We have been told that the planned Government Decree establishing a procedure for grant approvals is not finalized, and therefore no mechanism or timeframe currently exists for grant approval decisions,” the Embassy says in a June 11 statement.
“Due to this uncertainty, we have reluctantly had to cancel our grant plans to support the transparency and competitiveness of the upcoming municipal elections.”
Shortly after the Embassy’s announcement, the online media outlet Tabula stated that the £50,000 British grant was intended for them to cover local elections. “The regime did not respond to the UK government in a timely manner. After this, the British government canceled the project and informed Georgian society about the regime’s anti-democratic actions,” Tabula said, adding they will nonetheless continue “doing the Georgian job and defending Georgia’s European course.” It is unclear whether the British grants were intended for other media outlets or civil society organizations besides Tabula.
The Embassy’s announcement comes amid Georgian Dream’s crackdown on civil society and media organizations through the two foreign agents laws and recent amendments to the Law on Grants, which made it mandatory for donors to obtain government approval before disbursing grants. GD’s one-party parliament is now further amending the law to expand the requirement to include “technical assistance” and “knowledge-sharing” under the definition of grants.
The British Embassy also regretted that the GD government has not yet invited an OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission, “unlike the last municipal elections in Georgia,” and is “not facilitating grants for citizen election monitoring.”
“The absence of professionally trained election monitors working to internationally accepted standards would represent a backwards step that could reduce public confidence in the transparency of the democratic process in Georgia,” the statement notes.
“The United Kingdom reaffirms its readiness for dialogue on how it can support Georgia’s democratic development and regrets this missed opportunity to promote objective, professional, and transparent scrutiny of October’s municipal elections,” the statement concludes.
Regarding the upcoming local elections slated for October 4, the opposition remains split between participation and boycott, while Georgian Dream is certain to win all municipalities.
NOTE: This news article was updated on June 11 at 16:10 to reflect Tabula’s statement.
Also Read:
- 31/05/2025 – Georgian Dream’s FARA Takes Effect
- 17/04/2025 – International Reactions to GD-Approved Law Requiring Executive Approval for Foreign Grants
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