Georgian Dream denies senior figures worked for NGOs, despite CVs and video showing otherwise
Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has claimed that he and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze never worked for a non-governmental organisation, despite public records showing that both had past experience working in the type of foreign-funded organisations regularly demonised by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
During a press briefing on Friday, Papuashvili criticised what he called a ‘rotating door principle’, referring to when individuals move from NGO work to politics, claiming that a conflict of interest needs to be avoided.
It comes less than a week after the government unveiled sweeping new amendments that would bar former employees of almost all non-governmental organisations from politics.
Papuashvili cited USAID programmes and RFE/RL — which he described as ‘propaganda’ media — as examples, claiming they were defunded after it was ‘exposed’ that they were attempting to influence politics in the countries where they operated.
‘These organisations are used to gain political influence, to advance the interests of their funders. Of course we must ensure that there is no “revolving door principle” — when individuals are in an NGO and then they try to enter them in political power (in this case I mean parties)’, Papuashvili said.
He then went on to argue that this was internationally recognised as being a best practice:
‘For example, when a person is in politics, public sector, and, for example, wants to start working at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, they need a two-year pause, the so-called cooling off period, in order to start working there, when there is a risk that interests stemming from their previous work could be pursued in their new position’, he said.
It is unclear why Papuashvili mentioned a ‘two year’ gap specifically. A recently proposed amendment to the law on political associations would bar party membership for anyone employed by an organisation that receives more than 20% of its annual income from a foreign power for eight years. This effectively excludes many individuals with civil society or media backgrounds from political participation.
When asked by a journalist if he or Kobakhidze had the ‘cooling off’ period after working in an NGO, Papuashvili said:
‘I wasn’t in an NGO. Neither was Kobakhidze. Neither I nor Kobakhidze are in an NGO.’
Careers before politics
The claims sparked controversy online, with users sharing photos and videos from past public events, where he and Kobakhidze had participated as representatives of international organisations.
According to the Georgian Parliament’s website, Papuashvili previously worked for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), a development agency owned by the German federal government, starting in 2003, first as a legal expert, and then assuming senior roles.
He appeared to have worked for GIZ uninterruptedly up until 2020, when he entered politics under the Georgian Dream party list and was elected an MP, ending his 17-year career at the agency.
In turn, Kobakhidze began working for USAID in 2000 as a regional coordinator for a public education project, a role he held until 2001. He then joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2006, working first as a project expert and later as a project manager, remaining in that position until 2014.
Kobakhidze entered politics in 2015, taking the role of executive secretary of the Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia party.
While it is not listed on the parliament’s website, different sources, including the opposition TV channel Pirveli, reported that Kobakhidze also collaborated with the Open Society Foundations — Georgia, founded by George Soros. From 2011–2012, he was a member of the foundation’s Expert Committee within its human rights and rule of law programme.
Soros has regularly featured in anti-Western conspiracy theories shared not just by Georgian Dream, but across the world.
Other conspiracy-minded Georgian Dream MPs also have their past experience working for NGOs or other organisations typically lumped together by the ruling party in their official biographies published on the parliament’s website.
Mariam Lashkhi, a Georgian Dream MP who has been widely mocked for sharing baseless conspiracy theories about Freemasons and other alleged groups seeking to undermine Georgia, worked at USAID in the beginning of her career. The job experience is still listed in her CV on the parliament’s website.
Givi Mikinadze, a former Georgian Dream MP who now serves in the Education Ministry, previously worked for an EU project in Georgia, the OSCE, the UNDP, and the Council of Europe — all of his past positions are publicly listed in his CV on the parliament’s website.
Davit Zedelashvili
