Papuashvili Accuses UK of Attempted Interference Through Election Grant Program
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has accused the United Kingdom of attempting to interfere in Georgia's internal affairs through a newly announced grant competition supporting the upcoming 2025 local elections.
Speaking to reporters on April 6, Papuashvili claimed that the initiative from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) "serves exactly the same purpose as previous U.S. financial assistance," which he alleged had been used to "interfere in other countries, change governments and destabilize them."
The comments followed the April 4 announcement by the British Embassy in Tbilisi of a grant competition for Georgian non-profit organizations. The program offers up to £100,000 per project, aiming to support free and fair elections through voter education, participation among under-represented groups, and election observation.
The Embassy stated the program's goal is to support Georgian elections "that are held to the highest possible standards, in which all sections of the Georgian population are able to express their opinions."
However, Papuashvili argued that the British program was intended to fill the vacuum left by halted American funding: "The new American administration has exposed this [foreign funding] harmful practice and stopped interference in the internal affairs of other countries," he 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 also cast doubt on the transparency of the funding process, calling it "a corrupt grant."
"I strongly suspect this is a corrupt grant," he said. "Everyone already knows who will receive the money." He alleged that the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and "similar millionaire organizations" would be selected.
"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," Papuashvili said. "This way, they want to deceive both the Georgian and British public."
