Nargiz Aliyeva, a member of the opposition United National Movement party, has accused the anchor of an Azerbaijani talkshow of interfering in the Georgian elections by supporting the ruling Georgian Dream party.

‘Presenter Khoshgadam Hidayatgizi openly campaigned by calling to support a specific party in the elections held in another country’, Aliyeva wrote on Facebook on Thursday. 

She claimed this was a violation of both international law and regulations on mass media in Azerbaijan and added that she would appeal to the broadcaster, ARB Television, with an official letter.

‘Ignorance of the law does not exempt you from responsibility, you probably know that too!’, Aliyeva wrote. 

During the broadcast, Hidayatgizi called the Georgian Azerbaijani community to vote for Georgian Dream in the upcoming elections on Saturday. 

‘Because a war-free, peaceful Georgia is important for Azerbaijan. Our compatriots live there. If the situation gets messed up there, it will be bad for you and [Azerbaijan]. Therefore, there are only a few days left before the elections, and you choose stability and peace without war’.

Hidayatgizi also called on the Georgian Azerbaijani community to remember Ukraine, stating that things in Georgia under the ruling party were ‘stable, peaceful, and different from Ukraine’.

Azerbaijani government and state media has published multiple articles recently which repeat the same narratives spread by Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, as well as more explicitly call on the Georgian Azerbaijani community to support said party. 

In her Facebook post on Thursday, Aliyeva questioned where Hidayatgizi had gotten her information, specifically her claims regarding potential military conflicts on the territory of Georgia. 

She also demanded that the relevant authorities in Georgia and Azerbaijan ‘immediately deal with this’, and called on Hidayatgizi to apologise. 

‘Please, do not interfere with our internal affairs with your visits and requests! Give the people a choice, the people know this very well!’, Aliyeva wrote. 

OC Media reached out to Hidayatgizi but has not received a response.