Georgian Dream, Georgia’s ruling party, which had pledged to its voters to normalise relations with the West, shunned and criticised the visiting top lawmakers from France, Germany, Sweden, the Baltic states, and Finland.

On Monday night, parliamentary committee leaders from several EU member states addressed anti-government protesters in Tbilisi, voicing support for Georgia’s EU aspirations and calling for an investigation into irregularities in the 26 October parliamentary elections.

The demonstration, under the slogans, ‘we are Europe’, and ‘we choose  Europe’ was held outside the Georgian parliament, a frequent site of protests against ‘rigged’ elections in recent days. As the European lawmakers joined the event, the organisers played the anthems of Georgia and the EU. 

The statements made by the European lawmakers at the rally and at the meetings held before that day in Tbilisi closely echoed the message jointly conveyed to Georgia by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk just four days before the delegation’s trip to Tbilisi.

[Read more: Weimar Triangle: Georgia’s EU bid to remain stalled unless problematic laws are repealed] 

‘Fight for your democracy, fight for your country, fight for your membership in the EU and NATO, and remember, there is no “Orban way” to the European Union!’ declared Lithuanian MP Žygimantas Pavilionis as he addressed tens of thousands of protesters. 

Pavilionis was alluding to the Georgian government’s close ties with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and its emphasis on securing endorsements of its election victory. As of Tuesday, Hungary, and reportedly Slovakia, are the only EU member states to have officially congratulated Georgian Dream on its electoral victory. 

[Read also: What OC Media observed during Georgia’s election] 

‘To all those who wish to steal your election, to all those who want to take away your votes, to those who want to rob you of your freedom — we repeat the famous phrase of the Ukrainian soldier: “Русский военный корабль” [Russian warship],’ said Polish MP Michał Kamiński. The crowd completed the phrase with ‘go fuck yourself’.

The delegation visiting Tbilisi on 11 November also included Latvian MP Ināra Mūrniece, Estonian MP Marko Mihkelson, Finnish MP Jukka Kopra, Swedish MP Erik Ottoson, French MP Frédéric Petit, and German MP Michael Roth.

In an update on X following his meeting with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Roth stated that the 26 October elections ‘were not free and fair’. During the post-meeting press conference, he added that, without a thorough investigation, ‘individual sanctions’ should be anticipated for those responsible for voter manipulation and intimidation.

Great meeting with President @Zourabichvili_S, a brave leader and committed European. Our joint visit is driven by deep concern over the recent elections and the anti-democratic policies of the current 🇬🇪 Government. The elections were not free and fair.
🇬🇪🇪🇺🫶 pic.twitter.com/cwgC3FmyRA

— Michael Roth - official 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪 (@MiRo_SPD) November 11, 2024

While hosted by Zourabichvili, along with opposition and civic leaders, the European lawmakers’ visit was snubbed and denounced by the ruling Georgian Dream party. 

Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili cited a ‘personal unfriendly attitude towards the Georgian government and society’ and alleged unlawful interference in the October elections by ‘some members of the delegation’ as his reasons for refusing to meet with the guests. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who was attending COP29 and meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku that day, closely reiterated Papuashvili’s stated reasons.

During his visit, Petit expressed his surprise that ‘a member of parliament would say, “I will not meet you because you do not agree with me”’.

‘For me, this is a complete rejection of what democracy is. The only place when you have no conflict is the cemetery, and I am in no hurry for that’, Petit added. 

Georgian Dream’s Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, was more direct in his views, calling the guests ‘ordinary parasites’, while Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua mocked Zygimantas as ‘already gizhimantas’, using the Georgian word gizhi (‘crazy’) to insult him.